EP1173619A2 - Identification of candida albicans essential fungal specific genes and use thereof in antifungal drug discovery - Google Patents

Identification of candida albicans essential fungal specific genes and use thereof in antifungal drug discovery

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Publication number
EP1173619A2
EP1173619A2 EP00926615A EP00926615A EP1173619A2 EP 1173619 A2 EP1173619 A2 EP 1173619A2 EP 00926615 A EP00926615 A EP 00926615A EP 00926615 A EP00926615 A EP 00926615A EP 1173619 A2 EP1173619 A2 EP 1173619A2
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
protein
sequence
cacdc24
cakreδ
caalrl
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Granted
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EP00926615A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP1173619B1 (en
Inventor
Terry Roemer
Howard Bussey
John Davison
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McGill University
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McGill University
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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12Q—MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
    • C12Q1/00—Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions
    • C12Q1/68—Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions involving nucleic acids
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K14/00—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
    • C07K14/37—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from fungi
    • C07K14/39—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from fungi from yeasts
    • C07K14/40—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from fungi from yeasts from Candida
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12Q—MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
    • C12Q1/00—Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions
    • C12Q1/68—Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions involving nucleic acids
    • C12Q1/6876—Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes
    • C12Q1/6888—Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes for detection or identification of organisms
    • C12Q1/6895—Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes for detection or identification of organisms for plants, fungi or algae

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the identification of novel essential fungal specific genes isolated in the yeast pathogen, Candida albicans and to their structural and functional relatedness to their Sacharomyces cerevisiae counterparts. More specifically the invention relates to the use of these novel essential fungal specific genes in fungal diagnosis and antifungal drug discovery
  • Opportunistic fungi including Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Pneumocystis carinii, are a rapidly emerging class of microbial pathogens, which cause systemic fungal infection or "mycosis" in patients whose immune system is weakened.
  • Candida spp. rank as the predominant genus of fungal pathogens, accounting for approx.
  • CaKRE ⁇ , CaPRSI, CaRAD ⁇ , CaSNFI, and CaEFT2 are not essential in S cerevisiae Therefore, although the null phenotype of a gene in one organism may, in some instances, hint at the function of the orthologous gene in pathogenic yeasts, such predictions can prove invalid after experimentation.
  • the present invention relates to essential fungal specific genes that seek to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art associated with targets for antifungal therapy and with the drugs aimed at these targets.
  • the present invention relates to screening assays and agents identified by same which may display significant specificity to fungi, more particularly to pathogenic fungi, and even more particularly to Candida albicans.
  • the invention concerns essential fungal specific genes in Candida albicans and their use in antifungal drug discovery.
  • the present invention relates to the identification of genes known to be essential for viability in S. cerevisiae and to a direct assessment of whether an identical phenotype is observed in C. albicans.
  • genes which are herein found to be essential in C. albicans serve as validated antifungal drug targets and provide novel reagents in antifungal drug screening programs.
  • the present inventbn relates to the nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of CaKRE5, CaALRl and CaCDC24 of Candida albicans. Furthermore, the present invention relates to the identification of CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl and CaCDC24 as essential genes, thereby validating same as targets for antifungal drug discovery and fungal diagnosis.
  • KRE5, ALR1 and CDC24 were essential in a wide variety of fungi. While these genes had been shown to be essential in one of budding yeast (e.g. S. cerevisiae) and fission yeast (e.g. S.
  • KRE5, ALR1 and CDC24 are essential genes in very different fungi, thereby opening the way to use these genes and gene products as targets for antifungal drug devebpment diagnosis, in a wide variety of fungi including animal-infesting fungi and plant-infesting fungi
  • pathogenic fungi include Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Coccidiodes immitis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Exophiala dermatitidis Histoplsma capsulatum, Dermtophytes spp , Microsporumspp , T ⁇ cophyton spp , Phytophthora infestans and Puccima sorghi More particularly, the invention
  • the invention relates to methods and assays to identify agents which target KRE5, ALR1 or CDC24 and more particularly CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl or CaCDC24.
  • the invention relates to assays and methods to identify agents which target pathways in which these proteins are implicated.
  • an isolated DNA sequence selected from the group consisting of the fungal specific gene CaKRE ⁇ , the fungal specific gene CaALRl , the fungal specific gene CaCDC24, parts thereof, oligonucleotide derived therefrom, nucleotide sequence complementary to all of the above or sequences which hybridizes under high strigency conditions to the above.
  • a method of selecting a compound that modulates the activity of the product encoded by one of CaKRE ⁇ or CaALRl or CaCDC24 comprising an incubation of a candidate compound with the gene product, and a determination of the activity of this gene product in the presence of the candidate compound, wherein a potential drug is selected when the activity of the gene product in the presence of the candidate compound is measurably different and in the absence thereof
  • nucleic acid molecule consisting of 10 to 50 nucleotides which specifically hybridizes to RNA or DNA encoding CaKRES CaALRl, CaCDC24. or parts thereof or derivatives thereof wherein nucleic a ⁇ d molecule is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence consisting of at least 10 consecutive nucleic acids from the nucleic acid sequence of CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl, or CaCDC24, or derivatives thereof.
  • a method of detecting CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl or CaCDC24 in a sample comprising a contacting of the sample with a nucleicacid molecule under conditions that able hybridization to occur between this molecule and a nucleic acid encoding CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl or CaCDC24 or parts or derivatives thereof; and detecting the presence of this hybridization.
  • an antibody having specific binding affinity to CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl, CaCDC24 or an epitope-bearing portion thereof More specifically, the present invention relates to the identification and disruption of the Candida albicans fungal specific genes, CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl, and CaCDC24 which reveal structural and functional relatedness to their S. cerevisiae counterparts, and to a validation of their utility in fungal diagnosis and antifungal drug discovery. As alluded to earlier, while essentiality of KRE ⁇ , ALR1 or
  • GPT1 thought to be involved in protein folding, fails to complement the S. cerevisiae kre ⁇ mutant, and fails to reduce ⁇ -(1 ,6)-glucan polymer levels in this yeast.
  • the ⁇ -(1 ,6)-glucan polymer could be made in a different way in different yeasts
  • Genes are lost during evolution and it could thus not be determined a priori whether C. albicans retained a KRE ⁇ related gene.
  • the CaKRE ⁇ fails to complement a S. cerevisiae kre ⁇ mutant, thus no gene could be recovered by such an approach
  • the DNA sequence of the C. albicans CaKRE ⁇ gene is sufficiently different from that ofS. cerevisiae, that it cannot be detected by low stringency Southern hybridization with the S cerevisiae KRE ⁇ gene as a probe
  • the following abbreviations and terms are defined below
  • gene knockout refers to a disruption of a nucleic acid sequence which significantly reduces and preferably suppresses or destroys the biological activity of the polypeptide encoded thereby.
  • a number of knockouts are exemplified herein by the introduction of a recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising one of CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl or CaCDC24 sequences that disrupt at least a portion of the genomic DNA sequence encoding same in C. albicans In the latter case, in which a homozygous disruption (in a diploid organism or state thereof) is present, the mutation is also termed a "null" mutation
  • sequestering agent refers to an agent which sequesters one of the validated targets of the present invention in such a manner that it reduces or abrogates the biological activity of the validated arget
  • a non-limiting example of such a sequestering agent includes antibodies specific to one of the validated targets according to the present invention
  • fragment ⁇ refers to at least 7 contiguous ammo acids, preferably about 14 to 16 contiguous ammo acids, and more preferably, more than 40 contiguous ammo acids in length
  • Such peptides can be produced by well-known methods to those skilled in the art, such as, for example, by proteolytic cleavage, genetic engineering or chemical synthesis
  • “Fragments” of the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention refer to such molecules having at least 12 nt, more partcularly at least 18 nt, and even more particularly at least 24 nt which have utility as diagnostic probes and/or primers It will become apparent to the person of ordinary skill that larger fragments of 100 nt 1000 nt, 2000 nt and more also firti utility in accordance with the present invention
  • modulation of two factors is meant to refer to a change in the affinity, strength, rate and the like between such two factors Having identified CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl and CaCDC24 as essential genes and gene products in C albicans opens the way to a modulation of the interaction of ⁇ ese gene products with factors involved in their respectve pathways in this fungi as well as others
  • Nucleotide sequences are presented herein by single strand, in the 5' to 3' direction, from left to right, using the one letter nucleotide symbols as commonly used in the art and in accordance with the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission
  • nucleic acid molecule refers to a polymer of nucleotides
  • Non-limiting examples thereof include DNA (e g genomic DNA cDNA) and RNA molecules (e g mRNA"!
  • the nucleic acid molecule can be obtained by cloning techniques or synthesized DNA can be double-stranded or single-stranded (coding strand or non-coding strand [antisense])
  • recombinant DNA as known in the art refers to a DNA molecule resulting from the joining of DNA segments. This is often eferred to as genetic engineering
  • DNA segment is used herein, to refer to a DNA molecule comprising a linear stretch or sequence of nucleotides. This sequence when read in accordance with the genetic code, can encode a linear stretch or sequence of amino acids which can be referred to as a polypeptide, protein, protein fragment and the like
  • amplification pair refers herein to a pair of o gonucleotides (oiigos) of the present invention, whch are selected to be used together in amplifying a selected nucleic acid sequence by one of a number of types of amplification processes, preferably a polymerase chain reaction.
  • amplification processes include ligase chain reaction, strand displacement amplification, or nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, as explained in greater detail below.
  • the oiigos are designed to bind to a complementary sequence under selected conditions.
  • the nucleic acid e.g. DNA or RNA
  • the nucleic acid for practising the present invention may be obtained according to well known methods.
  • Nucleic acid fragments in accordance with the present invention include epitope-encoding portions of the polypeptdes of the invention Such portions can be identified by the person of ordinary skill using the nucleic acid sequences of the present invention in accordance with well known methods Such epitopes are useful in raising antibodies that are specific to the polypeptides of the present invention.
  • the invention also provides nucleic acid molecules which comprise polynucleotide sequences capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to the polynucleotide sequences of the present invention or to portions thereof
  • hybridizing to a portion of a polynucleotide sequence' refers to a polynucleotide which hybridizes to at least 12 nt, more preferably at least 18 nt, even more preferably at least 24 nt and especially to about 50 nt of a polynucleotide sequence of tne present invention
  • the present invention further provides isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising a polynucleotide sequences which is preferably at least 90% identical more preferably from 96% to 99% identical, and even more preferably, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% identical to the polynicleic acid sequence encoding the validated targets or fragments and/or derivatives therecf according to the present invention
  • Methods to compare sequences and determine their homology/identity are well known in the art
  • Oligonucleotide probes or primers of the present invention may be of any suitable length, depending on the particular assayformat and the particular needs and targeted genomes employed
  • the oligonucleotide probes or primers are at least 12 nucleotides in length, preferably between 15 and 24 nucleotides, and they may be adapted to be especially suited to a chosen nucleic acid amplification system
  • the oligonucleotide probes and primers can be designed by taking into consideration the melting point of hydrizidation thereof with its targeted sequence (see below and in Sambrook et al , 1989, Molecular Cloning - A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Edition, CSH Laboratories; Ausubel et al , 1989, in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons Inc , N Y )
  • oligonucleotide or "DNA” molecule or sequence refers to a molecule comprised of the deoxynbonucleotides adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and/or cytosine (C), in a double-stranded form and comprises or includes a "regulatory element” according to the present invention, as the term is defined herein
  • oligonucleotide' or "DNA” can be found in linear DNA molecules or fragments, viruses, plasmids vectors chromosomes or synthetically derived DNA As used herein particular double-stranded DNA sequences may be described according to the normal convention of giving only the sequence in the 5' to 3' direction ' Oligonucleotides' or oiigos' define a molecule having two or more nucleotides (ribo or deoxynbonucleotides) The size of the oligo will be dictated by the particular situation ana ultimately on the particular use thereof and
  • Nucleic acid hybridization refers generally to the hybridization of two single-stranded nucleic acid molecules having complementary base sequences, which under appropriate conditions will form a thermodynamically favored double-stranded structure. Examples of hybridization conditions can be found in the two laboratory manuals referred above (Sambrook et al., 1989, supra and Ausubel et al., 1989, supra) and are commonly known in the art.
  • a nitrocellulose filter can be incubated overnight at 65°C with a labelled probe in a solution containing 50% formamide, high salt (5 x SSC or 5 x SSPE), 5 x Denhardt' ⁇ solution, 1 % SDS, and 100 ⁇ g/ml denatured carrier DNA (e.g.
  • the non-specifically binding probe can then be washed off the filter by several washes in 0.2 x SSC/0.1 % SDS at a temperature which is selected in view of the desired stringency, room temperature (low stringency), 4ZC (moderate stringency) or 65°C (high stringency)
  • the selected temperature is based on the melting temperature (Tm) of the DNA hybrid.
  • Tm melting temperature
  • RNA-DNA hybrids can also be formed and detected In such cases, the conditions of hybridization and washing can be adapted according to well known methods by the person of ordinary skill Stringent conditions will be preferably used (Sambrook et al. , 1989, supra)
  • Probes of the invention can oe utilized with naturally occurring sugar-phosphate backbones as well as modified backbones including phosphorothioates dithionates alkyl phosphonates and ⁇ -nucleotides and the like Modified sugar-phosphate backbones are generally taught by Miller, 1988 Ann Reports Med Chem 23 295 and Moran et al 1987 Nucleic acid molecule Acids Res , 14 5019 Probes of the invention can be constructed of either nbonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxy ⁇ bonucleic acid (DNA), and preferably of DNA
  • probes can be used include Southern blots (DNA detection), dot or slot blots (DNA, RNA), and Northern blots (RNA detection) Although less preferred, labelled proteins could also be used to detect a particular nucleic acid sequence to which it binds Other detection methods include kits containing probes on a dipstick setup and the like
  • Probes can be labelled according to numerous well known methods (Sambrook et al , 1989, supra)
  • Non-limiting examples of labels include 3 H, 1 C, 32 P, and ⁇ S
  • Non-limiting examples of detectable markers include ligands, fluorophores, chemiluminescert agents, enzymes, and antibodies
  • Other detectable markers for use with probes which can enable an increase in sensitivity of the method of the invention include biotin and radionucleotides It will become evident to the person of ordinary skill that the choice of a particular label dictates the manner in which it is bound to the probe
  • radioactive nucleotides can be incorporated into probes of the invention by several methods Non-limiting examples thereof include kmasing the 5 ends of the probes using gamma 2 P ATP and polynucleotide Kinase using the Klenow fragment of Pol I of £ colt ⁇ r the presence of radioactive dNTP (e g uniformly labelled DNA probe using random oligonucleotide primers in low-melt gels) using the SP6T7 system to transcribe a DNA segment in the presence of one or more radioactive NTP and the like
  • radioactive dNTP e g uniformly labelled DNA probe using random oligonucleotide primers in low-melt gels
  • Amplification of a selected or target nucleic acid sequence may be carried out by a number of suitaole methods See generally Kwoh et al 1990, Am Biotechnol Lab 8 14-25 Numerous amplification techniques have been described and can be readily adapted to suit particular needs of a person of ordinary skill
  • Non-limiting examples of amplification techniques include polymerase chain reaction (PCR), gase chain reaction (LCR), strand displacement amplification (SDA), transcription-based amplification, the Q ⁇ rephcase system and NASBA (Kwoh et al , 1989, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86, 1173-1177, Lizardi et al , 1988, BioTechnologyg 1197-1202, Malek et al , 1994, Methods Mol Biol , 28 253-260, and Sambrook et al 1989, supra)
  • PCR Polymerase chain reaction
  • an extension product of eachpnmer which is synthesized is complementary to each of the two nucleic acid strands, with the primers sufficiently complementary to each strand of the specific sequence to hybridize therewith
  • the extension product synthesized from each primer can also serve as a template for further synthesis of extension products using the same primers Following a sufficient number of rounds of synthesis of extension products the sample is analysed to assess whether the sequence or sequences to be detected are present Detection cf the amplified sequence may be carried out by visualization following EtBr staining of the DNA following gel electrophores or using a detectable label in accordance with known techniques and the like.
  • Ligase chain reaction is carried out in accordance with known techniques (Weiss 1991 Science 254 1292) Adaptation of the protocol to meet the desired needs can be carried out bv a person of ordinary skill Strarti displacement amplification (SDA) is also carried out in accordance with known techniques or adaptations thereof to meet the particular needs (Walker et al 1992, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89 392-396, and ibid , 1992 Nucleic Acids Res 20 1691 -1696)
  • the term gene is well known in the art and relates to a nucleic acid sequence defining a single protein or polypeptide
  • a "structural gene” defines a DNA sequence which is transcribed into RNA and translated into a protein having a specific ammo acid sequence thereby giving rise to a specific polypeptide or protein It will be readily recognized by the person of ordinary skill, that the nucleic acid sequence of the present invention can be incorporated into anyone of numerous established kit formats which are well known in the art
  • heterologous e g a heterologous gene region of a DNA molecule is a subsegment segment of DNA within a larger segment that is not found in association therewith in nature
  • heterologous can be similarly used to define two polypeptidic segments not joined together in nature
  • Non-limiting examples of heterologous genes include reporter genes such as luciferase, chloramphenicol acetyl transferase, ⁇ -galactosidase, and the like which can be juxtaposed or joined to heterologous control regions or to heterologous polypeptides
  • vector is commonly known in the art and defines a plasmid DNA phage DNA, viral DNA and the like which can serve as a DNA vehicle into which DNA of the present invention can be cloned
  • plasmid DNA phage DNA viral DNA and the like which can serve as a DNA vehicle into which DNA of the present invention can be cloned
  • the term ' expression' defines the process by which a gene is transcribed into mRNA (transcription) the mRNA is then being translated (translation) into one polypeptide (or protein) or more
  • the terminology expression vector defines a vector or vehicle as described above but designed to enable the expression of an inserted sequence following transformation into a host
  • the cloned gene (inserted sequence) is usually placed under the control of control element sequences such as promoter sequences.
  • control element sequences such as promoter sequences
  • Operably linked sequences may also include two segments that are transcribed onto the same RNA transcript
  • two sequences, such as a promoter and a "reporter sequence” are operably linked if transcription commencing in the promoter will produce an RNA transcript of the reporter sequence.
  • two sequences such as a promoter and a "reporter sequence" are operably linked if transcription commencing in the promoter will produce an RNA transcript of the reporter sequence.
  • Expression control sequences will vary depending on whether the vector is designed to express the operably linked gene in a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host or both (shuttle vectors) and can additionally contain transcriptional elements such as enhancer elements, termination sequences, tissue-specificity elements, and/or translational initiation and termination sites
  • Prokaryotic expressions are useful for the preparation of large quantities of the protein encoded by the DNA sequence of hterest.
  • This protein can be purified according to standard protocols that take advantage of the intrinsic properties thereof, such as size and charge (e.g. SDS gel electrophoresis, gel filtration, centrifugation, ion exchange chromatography).
  • the protein of interest can be purified via affinity chromatography using polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies The purified protein can be used for therapeutic applications.
  • the DNA construct can be a vector comprising a promoter that is operably linked to an oligonucleotide sequence of the present invention, which is in turn, operably linked to a heterologous gene, such as the gene for the luciferase reporter molecule
  • Promoter refers to a DNA regulatory region capable of binding directly or indirectly to RNA polymerase in a cell and inflating transcription of a downstream (3' direction) coding sequence
  • the promoter is bound at its 3' terminus by the transcription initiation site and extends upstream (5' direction) to include the minimum number of bases or elements necessary to initiate transcription at levels detectable above background
  • a transcription initiation site (conveniently defined by mapping with S1 nuclease), as well as protein binding domains (consensus sequences) responsible for the binding of RNA polymerase
  • Eukaryotic promoters will often but not always, contain "TATA" boxes and "CCAT” boxes Prokaryotic promoters contain -10 and
  • the substituting ammo acid as chemico-physical properties which are similar to that of the substituted ammo acid
  • the similar chemico-physical properties include, similarities in charge, bulkiness, hydrophobicity, hydrophylicity and the like
  • the term "functional derivatives” is intended to include “fragments”, “segments' , “variants”, ' analogs” or “chemical derivatives" of the subject matter of the presert invention
  • a conservative mutation or substitution of an ammo acid refers to mutation or substitution which maintains 1) the structure of the backbone of the polypeptide (e g a beta sheet or alpha- helical structure), 2) the charge or hydrophobicity of the ammo acid or 3) the bulkiness of the side chain More specifically the well-known terminologies "hydrophilic residues" relate to se ⁇ ne or threonine "Hydrophobic residues” refer to leucine, isoleucine phenylalanine valine or alanme "Positively charged residues” relate to lysme arginine or hystidine Negatively charged residues refer to aspartic acid or glutamic acid Residues having "bulky side chains” refer to phenylalanine tryptophan or tyrosine 18
  • Peptides, protein fragments, and the like in accordance with the present invention can be modified in accordance with well-known methods dependently or independently of the sequence thereof
  • peptides can be derived from the wild-type sequence exemplified herein in the figures using conservative ammo acid substitutions at 1 2 3 or more positions
  • conservative ammo acid substitutions is well-known in the art which relates to substitution of a particular ammo acid by one having a similar characteristic (e g aspartic acid for glutamic acid, or isoleucme for leucine)
  • non-conservative ammo acid substitutions can also be carried out, as well as other types of modifications such as deletions or insertions, provided that these modifications modify the peptide, in a suitable way (e g without affecting the biological activity of the peptide if this is what is intended by the modification)
  • a list of exemplary conservative ammo acid substitutions is given herembelow
  • variant refers herein to a protein or nucleic acid molecule which is substantially similar in structure and biological activity to the protein or nucleic acid of the present invention
  • conservedamino acids can be targeted and replaced (or deleted) with a "non-conservative" ammo acid in order to reduce, or destroy the biological activity of the protein
  • non-conservative ammo acid
  • chemical derivatives is meant to cover additional chemical moieties not normally part of the subject matter of the invention Such moieties could affect the physico-chemical characteristic of the derivative (e g solubility, absorption, half life and the like, decrease of toxtcity) Such moieties are exemplified in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences (e g 1980) Methods of coupling these chemical-physical moieties to a polypeptide are well known in the art It will be understood that chemical modifications and the like could also be used to produce inactive or less active agents or compounds These agents or compounds could be used as negative controls or for eliciting an immunological response Thus eliciting immunological tolerance using an inactive modification of one of tie validated targets in accordance with the present invention is also within the scope of the present invention
  • allele defines an alternative form of a gene which occupies a given locus on a chromosome
  • antifungal polypeptides fragments and derivatives thereof can be produced using numerous types of modifications of the ammo acid chain Such numerous t es of modifications are well-known to those skilled in the art Broadly these modifications include without being limited thereto a reduction ofthe size of the molecule and/or the modification of the ammo acid sequence thereof Also chemical modifications such as, for example, the incorporation of modified or non-natural am o acids or non-ammo acid moieties, can be made to polypeptice derivative or fragment thereof, in accordance with the present invention. Thus, synthetic peptides including natural, synthesized or modified ammo acids, or mixtures thereof, are within the scope of the present invention
  • modifications of the antifungals of the present invention are taught in Genaro, 1995, Remington's Pharmaceutical Science
  • the method for coupling different moieties to a molecule in accordance with the present invention are well-known in the art
  • a non-limiting example thereof includes a covalent modification of the proteins, fragments, or derivatives thereof
  • modifications of the ammo acids in accordance with the present invention include, for example, modification of the cysteinyl residues, of the histidyl residues, lysinyl and aminotermmal residues, arginyl residues, thyrosyl residues, carboxyl side groups, glutaminyl and aspariginyl residues
  • Other modifications of amino acids can also be found in Creighton, 1983, In Proteins, Freeman and Co. Ed., 79-86
  • a “mutation” is a detectable change in the genetic material which can be transmitted to devishter cell.
  • a mutation can be, for example, a detectable change in one or more deoxynbonucleotide
  • nucleotides can be added, deleted, substituted for, inverted, or transposed to a new position Spontaneous mutations and experimentally induced mutations exist
  • the restit of a mutations of nucleic acid molecule is a mutant nucleic acid molecule
  • a mutant polypeptide can be encoded from this mutant nucleic acid molecule
  • the term "dominant negative mutation” refers to a mutation which can somehow sequester a binding partner, such that thebinding partner is no longer available to perform regulate or affect an essential function in the cell Hence this sequestration affects the essential function of the bnding partner and enables an assayable change in the cell growth of the cell In one preferred embodiment, the change is a decrease in growth of the cell, or even death thereof
  • the term “purified” refers to a molecule having been separated from a cellular component Thus, for example, a “purified protein” has been purified to a level not found in nature
  • a "substantially pure” molecule is a molecule that is lacking in most other cellular components
  • the terms "molecule”, “compound” or “ligand” are used interchangeably and broadly to refer to natural, synthetic or semi- synthetic molecules or compounds
  • the term “molecule” therefore denotes for example chemicals, macromolecules, cell or tissue extracts (from plants or animals) and the like
  • Non limiting examples of molecules include nucleic
  • screening assays in accordance with the present invention can be carried out using the well-known array or micro-array technology
  • the present invention also provides antisense nucleic acid molecules which can be used for example to decrease or abrogate the expression of the nucleic acid sequences or proteins of the present invention
  • An antisense nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention refers to a molecule capable of forming a stable duplex or triplex with a portion of its targeted nucleic acid sequence (DNA or RNA)
  • the antisense is specific to 4E-BP1
  • the use of antisense nucleic acid molecules and the design and modification of such molecules is well known in the art as described for example in WO 96/32966 WO 96/1 1266 WO 94/15646 WO 93/08845 and USP 5 593 974
  • Antisense nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention can be derived from the nucleic acid sequences and modified in accordance to well known methods For exampie, some antisense molecules can be designed to be more resistant to degradation to hcrease their affinity to their targeted sequence, to affect their transport to chosen cell types or cell
  • in vivo experimental model can also be used to carry out an “in vitro” assay
  • extracts from the indicator cells of the present invention can be prepared and used in one of the in vitro method of the present invention or an in vitro method known in the art
  • indicator cells refers to cells that express, in one particular embodiment, one of CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl, and CaCDC24, in such a way that an identifiable or selectable phenotype or characteristic is observable or detectable Such indicator cells can be used in the screening assays of the present invention.
  • the indicator cells have been engineered so as to express a chosen derivative, fragment, homolog, or mutant of these interacting domains
  • the cells are fungal cells.
  • the cells areS. cerevisiae cells, in another C. albicans cells.
  • the indicator cell is a yeast cell harboring vectors enabling the use of the two hybrid system technology, as well known in the art (Ausubel et al , 1994, supra) and can be used to test a compound or a library thereof
  • a reporter gene encoding a selectable marker or an assayable protein can be operably linked to a control element such that expression of the selectable marker or assayable protein is dependent on a function of one of the validated targets
  • the reporter gene is luciferase or ⁇ -Gal
  • the validated targets of the present invention may be provided as a fusion protein
  • fusion proteins The design of constructs therefor and the expression and production of fusion proteins are well known in the art (Sambrook et al , 1989, supra and Ausubel et al 1994, supra)
  • both interaction domains are part of fusion proteins
  • a non-limtmg example of such fusion proteins includes a LexA-X fusion (DNA-binding domairv 4E-X; bait, wherein X is a validated target of the present invention or part or derivative thereof) and a B42 fusion (transactivator domain-Y; prey, wherein Y is a factor or part thereof which binds to X).
  • the LexA-X and B42-Y fusion proteins are expressed in a yeast cell also harboring a reporter gene operably linked to a LexA operator and/or LexA responsive element.
  • a reporter gene operably linked to a LexA operator and/or LexA responsive element.
  • the fusion proteins need not contain the full-length validated target or mutant trereof or polypeptide with which it interacts. Indeed, fragments of these polypeptides, provided that they comprise the interacting domains, can be used in accordance with the present invention.
  • Non-limiting examples of such fusion proteins include a hemaglutinin fusions, Gluthione-S-transferase (GST) fusions and Maltose binding protein (MBP) fusions.
  • GST Gluthione-S-transferase
  • MBP Maltose binding protein
  • protease cleavage sites between two heterologously fused polypeptides are well known in the art.
  • the interaction domains of the present invention it might also be beneficial to fuse the interaction domains of the present invention to signal peptide sequences enabling a secretion of the fusion protein from the host cell.
  • Signal peptides fr ⁇ n diverse organisms are well known in the art.
  • Bacterial OmpA and yeast Suc2 ae two non limiting examples of proteins containing signal sequences.
  • linker commonly knowr
  • sequences and polypeptides useful to practice the invention include without being limited thereto mutants, homologs, subtypes, alleles and the like. It shall be understood that in certain embodiments, the sequences of the present invention encode a functional (albet defective) interaction domain. It will be clear to the person of ordinary skill that whether an interaction domain of the present invention, variant, derivative, or fragment thereof retains its function in binding to its partner can be readily determined by using the teachings and assays of the present invention and the general teachings of the art. Of course, the interaction domains of the present invention can be modified, for example by in vitro mutagenesis, to dissect the structure- function relationship thereof and permit a better design and identification of modulating compounds.
  • Derivative or analogs having lost their biological function of interacting with their respective interaction may find an additional utility (in addition to a function as a dominant negative, for example) in raising antibodies.
  • Such analogs or derivatives could be used for example to raise antibodies to the interaction domains of the present invention.
  • These artibodies could be used for detection or purification purposes.
  • these antibodies could also act as competitive or non-competitive inhibitor and be found to be modulators of the activity of the targets of the present invention.
  • a host cell or indicator cell has been "transfected" by exogenous or heterologous DNA (e.g. a DNA construct) when such DNA has been introduced inside the cell.
  • the transfecting DNA may or may not be integrated (covalently linked) into chromosomal DNA making up the genome of the cell.
  • the transfecting DNA may be maintained on a episomal element such as a plasmid. Transfection and transformation methods are well known in the art (Sambrook et al., 1989, supra; Ausubel et al., 1994 supra; Yeast Genetic Course, A Laboratory Manual, CSH Press 1987).
  • therapeutic agent should be taken in a broad sense so as to also include a combination of at least two such therapeutic agents
  • the present invention provides the means to treat fungal infection comprising an administration of an effective amount of an antifungal agent of the present invention
  • the prescribing medical professional will ultimately determine the appropriate form and dosage for a given patient, and this can be expected to vary according to the chosen therapeutic regimen (e g DNA construct, protein, molecule), the response and condition of the patient as well as the severity of the disease
  • composition within the scope of the present invention sho ⁇ d contain the active agent (e.g. protein, nucleic acid, or molecule) in an amount effective to achieve the desired therapeutic effect while avoiding adverse side effects.
  • the nucleic acids in accordance with the present invention can be administered to mammals (e.g.
  • FIG. 1 shows CaKRE ⁇ sequence and comparison to the S cerevisiae KRE ⁇ , Drosophila melanogaster UGGT1, and S pombe GPT1 encoded proteins
  • A illustrates nucleotide and predicted am o acid sequence of CaKre ⁇ p
  • the CaKre ⁇ p signal peptide is underlined in bold
  • the ER retention sequence His-Asp-Glu-Leu (HDEL) is indicated in bold at the C-terminus
  • Non-canonical CTG codons encoding Ser in place of Leu are italicized
  • B shows protein sequence alignment between CaKre ⁇ p, Kre5p, Gptlp, and Uggtp Proteins are shown in single-letter ammo acid code with ammo acid identities shaded in black and similarities shaded in gray Gaps introduced to improve alignment are indicated by dashes
  • FIG. 2 shows CaALRl sequence and comparison to S cerevisiae Alrlp and Alr2p
  • A illustrates nucleotide and predicted am o acid sequence of CaALRl
  • Two hydrophobic am o acid stretches predicted to serve as transmembrane domains are indicated in bold Non-canonical CTG codons are italicized
  • B shows protein sequence alignment between CaAlrlp, Alrlp, and Alr2p Proteins are shown in single-letter ammo acid code with ammo acid identities shaded in black and similarities shaded in gray Dashes indicate gaps introduced to improve alignment
  • Figure 3 shows CaCDC24 sequence and comparison to
  • CDC24 from S cerevisiae and S pombe (A) illustrates nucleotide and predicted ammo acid sequence of CaCDC24 Non-canonical CTG codons are italicized (B) shows protein sequence alignment between CaCdc24p, S cerevisiae Cdc24p, and the S pombe homolog Scdlp
  • the CaCdc24p dbl homology domain extends from ammo acids 280-500
  • a pleckst ⁇ n homology domain is detected from residues 500-700 Protein alignments are formated as described in Fig 1 and 2 and
  • Figure 4 illustrates disruption of CaKRE ⁇ CaALRl, and CaCDC24 Restriction maps of (A) CaKRE ⁇ (C) CaALRl and (E) CaCDC24 display restriction sites pertinent to disruption strategies
  • the insertion position of the h ⁇ sG-URA3-h ⁇ sG disruption module relative the CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl, and CaCDC24 open reading frames (indicated by open arrows) is indicated as well as probes used to verify disruptions by Southern blot analysis.
  • B, D, F. show southern blot verification of targeted integration of the hisG-URA3-hisG disruption module into CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl, and CaCDC24 and its precise excision after 5-FOA treatment
  • B shows genomic DNA extracted from Candida albicans wild-type strain, CAI-4 (lane 1), heterozygote CaKRE ⁇ /cakre ⁇ ::h ⁇ sG-URA3-hisG (lane 2), heterozygote
  • CaKRE ⁇ /cakre ⁇ r.hisG after 5-FOA treatment (lane 3), and a representive transformant resulting from the second round of transformation into a CaKRE ⁇ /cakre ⁇ ::h ⁇ sG heterozygote (lane 4), were digested with Hindlll and analyzed using CaKRE ⁇ , hisG, and CaURA3 probes. Asterisks identify the 1.6 kb ladder fragment that nonspecifically hybridizes to the three probes.
  • D shows genomic DNA extracted from CAI-4 (lane 1 ), heterozygote CaALRl Vcaalr1 ⁇ ::h ⁇ sG-URA3-hisG (lane 2), heterozygote
  • CaALR1/caalr1 ⁇ r.hisG after 5-FOA treatment (lane 3), and a representive transformant resulting from the second round of transformation into a CaALR1/caalr1 ⁇ ::hisG heterozygote (lane 4), were digested with EcoRI and analyzed using CaALRl, hisG, and CaURA3 probes.
  • F shows genomic DNA extracted from CAI-4 (lane 1), heterozygote
  • C albicans genes whose gene products are homologous to those encoded by the essential genes KRE ⁇ , CDC24, and ALR1 from S cerevisiae were identified These genes participate in essential cellular functions of cell wall biosythesis, polarized growth, and divalent cationtransport, respectively Disruption of these genes in C albicans experimentally demonstrates their essential role in this pathogenic yeast Database searches fail to identify clear homologous counterparts in Caenorhabditis elegans, mouse and H sapiens genomes, supporting the utility of these genes as novel antifungal targets
  • CaKRE ⁇ CaCDC24 and CaALRl were used in antifungal screening assays which confirmed their potential to screen for novel antifungal compounds
  • the C albicans KRE ⁇ gene meets several criteria expected for a potential antifungal drug target InS cerevisiae deletion of KRE ⁇ confers a lethal phenotype (2) Although ⁇ 5-deleted cells are known to be viable in one particular strain background they are extremely slow growing and spontaneous extragenic suppressors are required to propagate kre ⁇ null cells under laboratory conditions Genetic analyses suggest that KRE ⁇ , together with a number of additional KRE genes (e g KRE9) participate in the in vivo synthesis of ⁇ -(1 ,6)-glucan ⁇ -(1 ,6)-glucan covalently cross-links or "glues" other cell surface constituents, namely ⁇ -(1 3)-glucan mannan, and chitm into the final wall structure and has been shown to be essential for viability in both S cerevisiae and C albicans (1 ,2 and references therein) Importantly, ⁇ -(1 ,6)-glucan has been demonstrated to exist in a number of additional
  • ALR1 The product of the C albicans gene CaALRl, also meets several criteria characteristic of a suitable antifungal drug target In S cerevisiae ALR1 is essential for cell viability although this essentiality is suppressed under growth conditions containing non-physiologically-relevant leveis of supplementary Mg + ⁇ ALR1 encodes a 922 am o acid protein containing a highly charged N-termmal domain and two hydrophobic C-termmal regions predicted to serve as membrane spanning domains anchoring the protein at the plasma membrane Although such a localization remains to be directly demonstrated deposition to the cell surface makes Alrl p an attractive drug target in terms of both bioavailability and resistance issues Alrlp shares substantial homolog , to two additional S cerevisiae proteins Alr2p (70% identity) and Ykl064p (34% identity) Both Alrlp and Alr2p share limited similarity to CorA a Salmonella typhimu ⁇ um/periplasmic membrane protein involved in divalent cation transport. Mamma
  • ALR1 was identified in a screen for genes that confer increased tolerance to A 3 when overexpressed. biochemical analyses support a role for ALR1 in the uptake system for Mg +2 and possibily other divalant cations. Mg +2 is an essential requirement for bacterial and yeast growth. Uptake of radiolabelled Co +2 , an analog of Mg +2 for uptake assays, correlates with ALR1 activity.
  • a third potential antiiingal drug target is the product of the C. albicans gene, CaCDC24.
  • CDC24 is essential for viability in both S. cerevisiae and S. pombe (5).
  • CDC24 has been biochemically demonstrated to encode GDP-GTP nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activity towards Cdc42p, a Rac/Rho-type GTPase involved in polarization of the actin cytoskeleton.
  • GEF GDP-GTP nucleotide exchange factor
  • Cdc24p localizes to the cell cortex concentrating at sites of polarized growth and interacts physically with a number of proteins including Cdc42p, Bemlp, and the heterotrime ⁇ c G protein ⁇ and y subunits encoded by STE4 and STE18 respectively Cdc24p shares 24% overall identity to ite S pombe counterpart, Scdl p Similar homology has not been found in mammalian database protein searches, although Cdc24p does possess limited homology to a domain of the human exchange protein, dbl, and contains a pleckstnn homology domain, common to several mammalian protein classes.
  • Cdc42p shares 80-85% identity to mammalian proteins.
  • the fungal-specific character of CDC24 may be due to its role in hallmark fungal processes like bud formation, pseudohyphal growth, and projection formation during mating, whereas CDC42 performs highly conserved functions (namely actin polymerization and signal transduction) common to all eukaryotes
  • oligonucleotides were designed according to publicly available fragments of C. albicans DNA sequence.
  • Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotide pairs CAKRE5.1/CAKRE5.2, CaCDC24.1/CaCDC24.2, and CaALRl .1/CaALR1.2 to amplify genomic DNA derived from C. albicans strain SC5314 yielded 574, 299, and 379 bp products, respectively.
  • PCR products were 32 P-radiolabeled and used to probe a YEp352-based C. albicans genomic library by colony hybridization
  • DNA sequencing of two independent isolates representing putative CaKRE ⁇ and CaALRl clones revealed complete open reading frames (orf) sharing statistically significant homology to their S cerevisiae counterparts (Figs 1 , 2).
  • DNA sequencing of multiple isolates of CaCDC24 revealed an orf containing strong identity to CDC24.
  • CaCDC24 The 3' end of CaCDC24 was isolated by PCR amplification using one oligonucleotide designed from its most 3' sequence and a second oligonucleotide which anneals to the YEp352 polylmker allowing amplification of CaCDC24 C-terminal encoding fragments from this C albicans genomic library Subclonmg and DNA sequencing of a 1.0 kb PCR product completes the CaCDC24 open reading frame and reveals its gene product to share strong homology to both Cdc24p and Scdl p (Fig 3)
  • CaKRE ⁇ Sequence analysis reveals CaKRE ⁇ and KRE ⁇ are predicted to encode similarly-sized proteins (1447 vs 1365 am o acids, 166 vs 156 kDA) sharing significant homology throughout their predicted protein sequences (22% identity, 42% similarity, see Fig 1) Moreover, l ⁇ keKR£5, CaKRE ⁇ is predicted to possess an ammo-terminal signal peptide required for translocation into the secretory pathway, and a C-terminal HDEL sequence which facilitates the retention of soluble secretory proteins within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
  • CaKre ⁇ p is more homologous to S pombe and metazoan UGGT proteins throughout its C-terminal UGGT homology domain than to Kre ⁇ p, CaKre ⁇ p and Kre ⁇ p, are moe related to each other over their remaining sequence (approx 1100 ammo acids) This unique homology between the two proteins as well as a similar null phenotypes (see below) suggest that CaKRE ⁇ likely
  • CaALRl encodes a 922 ammo acid residue protein sharing strong identity to boih ALR1 (1 Oe-180) and ALR2 (1 Oe-179 see Fig 2) Like these proteins, CaALRl possesses a C-terminal hydrophobic region which likely functions as two transmembrane anchoring domains CaALRl shares only limited homology however to two highly homologous regions common to ALR1 and ALR2 neither the N-termmal 250 ammo acids of CaALRl nor its last 50 ammo acids C-terminal the hydrophobic domain share strong similarity to ALR1 or ALR2 In addition CaALRl possesses two unique sequence extentions within the CorA homology region (one 38 ammo acids in length, the other 16 ammo acids long) not found in e ⁇ ther/ ⁇ LR7 or ALR2 Protein database searches identify a S pombe hypothetical protein sharing strong homology to CaALRl (2 7e-107), however no similarity to higher eukaryotic proteins were detected
  • CaCDC24 Sequence analysis of the CaCDC24 gene product reveals extensive homology to both Cdc24p (1e-93) and Scdlp from S cerevisiae and S pombe respectively (2e-61 , see Fig 3) throughout their entire open reading frames
  • CaCdc24p and both Cdc24p and Scdl p
  • metazoan proteins upto 5e-18
  • this homology is restricted to the nucleotide exchange domain predicted to span ammo acid residues 250-500
  • Extensive analysis of metazoan databases failed to identify significant homology to either the N-termmal (am o acids 1-250) and C-terminal (am o acids 500-844) regions of CaCdc24p suggesting the CDC24 gene family is conserved exclusively within the fungal kingdom
  • CaKRE ⁇ disruption plasmid was constructed by deleting a 780bp BamHl-Bglll DNA fragment from the library plasmid isolate, rJCaKRES and replacing it with a 4 0 kb BamHl-Bglll DNA fragment containing the h ⁇ sG-CaURA3-h ⁇ sG module from pCUB-6
  • This CaKRE ⁇ disruption plasmid is deleted of DNA sequence encoding ammo acids 971-1231 which encompasses approx 50% of the UGGT homology domain
  • This CaKRE ⁇ disruption plasmid was then digested with Sphl prior to transformation
  • a CaALRl disruption allele was constructed by first subclonmg a 7 0 kp CaALRl BamHI-Sall fragment from YEp352-l ⁇ brary isolate QCaALRI into PBSKII+ A 841 bp CaALRl Hindlll-Bglll fragment was then replaced with a 4 0 kb h ⁇ sG-CaURA3-h ⁇ sG DNA fragment digested with Hindi! and BamHI from This CaALRl disruption allele which is lacking DNA sequences encoding ammo acids 20-299, was digested using BamHI and Sail prior to transformation
  • a CaCDC24 insertion allele was constructed by first deleting a 0 9 kb Kpnl fragment from YEp352-l ⁇ brary isolate pCaCDC24 to remove CaCDC24 upstream sequence containing BamHI and Bglll restriction sites which obstruct the insertion of the h ⁇ sG-CaURA3-h ⁇ sG module
  • the 4 0 kb BamHl-Bglll h ⁇ sG-CaURA3-h ⁇ sG fragment from pCUB-6 was then ligated into a unique Bglll site
  • CaKRE ⁇ , CaALRl, and CaCDC24 disruption plasmids were digested as described above, and transformed into C albicans strain CAI "4 using the lithium acetate method Transformants were selected as Ura+ prototrophs on YNB + Casa plates. Heterozygous disruptants were identified by PCR (data not shown), verified by Southern blot (see below), and prepared for a second round of gene disruption by selecting for 5-FOA resistance To assess the null phenotype of each gene, a second round of transformations using heterozygous CaKRE ⁇ /cakre ⁇ , CaALR1/caalr1, and CaCDC24/cacdc24 ura3- strains were performed as outlined above
  • CaURA3 coding region (3) a 898bp PCR product encompassing the entire Salmonella typhimurium hisG gene. Genomic DNA from CarRE5-disrupted strains were digested with Hindlll and EcoRI was used to digest genomic DNA from CaALRl and CaCDC24-d ⁇ srupted strains
  • CaKRE ⁇ /cakre ⁇ ::h ⁇ sG, ura3-/ura3- heterozygote strains A total of 36 Ura+ colonies (24 small and 12 large colonies after 3 days of growth) were analyzed by PCR using oligonucleotides which amplify a 2 5 kb wild-type fragment that spans the BamHI and Bglll sites bordering the disrupted r egion All colonies were shown to contain this 2 5 kb wild-type fragment but to lack the 2 8 kb cakre ⁇ hisG allele consistent with the cakre ⁇ h ⁇ sG-CaURA3-h ⁇ sG module integrating at the disrupted locus
  • CaURA3-h ⁇ sG heterozygote ⁇ If disruption of both copies of the gene was not essential, then 50% of the recovered disruptants would be expected to integrate into the CaKRE ⁇ locus, giving 50% homologous and 50% heterozygous disruptants This is the case for example, when disrupting the second wild-type allele of CaKREI Indeed, CaKREI was shown not to be essential in C albicans by this disruption method, since an equal number of heterozygous and homozygous strains resulted from this second round of transformations (data not shown) However, the absence of any homozygous CaKRE ⁇ disrupted transformants being detected among the 36 Ura+ transformants analyzed in this experiment demonstrates that CaKRE ⁇ is an essential C albicans gene It further validates CaKRE ⁇ and its gene product as a therapeutic target for drug discovery in this pathogen
  • CaKRE ⁇ can be genetically modified to function in S cerevisiae by replacing its promoter sequence with any strong constitutive S cerevisiae promoters (e g GAL10, ACT1, ADH1) As C albicans utilizes an altered genetic code, in which the standard leucine-CTG codon
  • CaKre ⁇ p has ammo-acid sequence simila ⁇ ties to UDP-glucose glycoprotein glucosyltransferases (4)
  • the CaKre ⁇ p protein can be heterogeneously expressed and/or purified from Candida albicans and an in vitro assay devised by adding purified GPI-anchored cell wall proteins known to normally contain ⁇ -(1 ,6)-glucan linkages in a KRE ⁇ wild-type background but absent in kre ⁇ deleted extracts
  • acceptor substrates could be obtained from available S cerevisiae kre ⁇ null extracts suppressed by second site mutations or conditional kre ⁇ strains (e g under control of a regulatable promoter or temperature sensitive mutation)
  • CaKre ⁇ p dependent protein glycosylation is measured as radiolabelled incorporation of UDP-glucose into the acceptor substrate purified from the kre ⁇ null extract Alternatively it is possible to screen for compounds that bind to immobilized CaKreSp For example, scm
  • CDC24 has been biochemically demonstrated to encode a GDP-GTP nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) required to convert Cdc42p to a GTP-bound state
  • GEF GDP-GTP nucleotide exchange factor
  • An in vitro assay to measure CaCdc24p-dependent activation of Cdc42p could be used to screen for inhibitors of Ca dc24p. This could be accomplished by directly measuring the percentage of GTP versus GDP bound by Cdc42p. Alternatively. Cdc24p function could be determined indirectly by measuring Cdc42p-GTP dependent activation of Ste20p kinase activity.
  • PCR Polymerase chain reaction
  • Transc ⁇ ptional profiling of ⁇ re5 alrl . and cdc24 mutants in S cerevisiae could identify genes which are transc ⁇ ptionally induced or repressed specifically under conditions of KRE5 ALR1 , or CDC24 inactivation or overproduction
  • the identification of promoter elements from genes responsive to the loss of KRE5 ALR1 or CDC24 activity offers practical utility in drug screening assays to identify compounds which specifically inactivate these targets.
  • a chime ⁇ c reporter gene eg. lacZ, GFP, whose expression would be either induced or repressed by such a promoter would reflect activity of Kre5p, and could be used for high-throughput screening of compound libraries.
  • a group of promoters showing such regulated expression would allow a specific fingerprint or transcriptional profile to be buit for the inhibition or overproduction of the ALR1, CDC24, or KRE ⁇ genes. This would allow a reporter set to be constructed that could be used for nigh-throughput screening of compound libraries giving a specific tool for screening compounds which inhibit these gene products
  • the aim of the present invention is to provide the identification and subsequent validation of novel drug targets that can be used in specific enzymatic and cellular assays leading to the discovery of new clinically useful antifungal compounds.
  • KRE ⁇ , ALR1 and CDC24 have previously been identified in the baker's yeast, S. cerevisiae, prior to the present invention, it was unknown whether orthologous genes would be identified in the human pathogen C. albicans, or whether should they exist, these genes would perform identical or similar functions.
  • albicans have thus been identified and their utility has been validated as novel antifungal drug targets by experimentally demonstrating their essential nature by gene disruption directly in the pathogen
  • the precise role of these gene products remains to be determined, the current understanding of their cellular functions does enable both in vitro and in vivo antifungal drug screening assay development
  • genome database searches fail to detect significant homology to these genes in metazoan ⁇ suggesting that screening for compounds whicn inactivate these fungal-specific drug targets are less likely to display toxicity to mammals ana particularly to humans
  • KRE ⁇ and CDC24 are unique genes in S. cerevisiae and irrespective of their inclusion in gene families in C albicans.
  • ALR1p1 is part of a 3 member gene family in S cerevisiae and sequence similarity to ALR2p has been identified (Stanford Sequencing Project), however the essential role of CaALRl p in C albicans and their predicted extracellular location offers the potential to screen for novel antifungal compounds which need not enter the cell circumventing issues of compound delivery and drug resistance
  • the present invention provides the identification of
  • the present invention also provides the means to use these validated targets to screen for artifungal drugs to Mycota in general and more particularly to a pathogenic yeast such as Candida albicans
  • the present invention extends in a non-obviousway the use of these genes in a pathogenic fungal species, as targets for screening 5r drugs specifically directed against fungal pathogens

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Abstract

The invention relates to the identification and disruption of essential fungal specific genes isolated in the yeast pathogen Candida albicans namely CaKRE5, CaALR1, and CaCDC24 and to the use thereof in antifungal diagnosis and as essential antifungal targets in a fungal species for antifungal drug discovery. More specifically, the invention relates to the CaKRE5, CaALR1, and CaCDC24 genes, to their use to screen for antifungal compounds and to the drugs identified by such.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION
IDENTIFICATION OF CANDIDA ALBICANS ESSENTIAL FUNGAL SPECIFIC GENES AND USE THEREOF IN ANTIFUNGAL DRUG DISCOVERY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the identification of novel essential fungal specific genes isolated in the yeast pathogen, Candida albicans and to their structural and functional relatedness to their Sacharomyces cerevisiae counterparts. More specifically the invention relates to the use of these novel essential fungal specific genes in fungal diagnosis and antifungal drug discovery
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Opportunistic fungi, including Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Pneumocystis carinii, are a rapidly emerging class of microbial pathogens, which cause systemic fungal infection or "mycosis" in patients whose immune system is weakened. Candida spp. rank as the predominant genus of fungal pathogens, accounting for approx. 8% of all bloodstream infections in hospitals today Alarmingly, the incidence of fe-theatening C albicans infections or "candidiasis" have risen sharply over the last two decades, and ironically, the single greatest contributing factor to the prevalence of mycosis in hospitals today is modern medicine itself Standard medical practices such as organ transplantation, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, suppress the immune system and mate patients highly susceptible to fungal infection Modern diseases, most notoriously, AIDS, also contribute to this growing occurrence of fungal infection In fact, Pneumocystis carinn infection is the number one cause of mortality for AIDS victims Treatment of fungal infection is hampered by the lackof safe and effective antifungal drugs Antirrycotic compounds used today, namely polyenes (amphoteπcin B) and azole-based derivatives (fluconazole), are of limited efficacy due to the nonspecific toxicity of the former and emmerging resistance to the latter Resistance to fluconazole has increased dramatically throughout the decade particularly in Candida and Aspergillus spp. Clearly, new antimycotic compounds must be developed to combat fungal infection and resistance. Part of the solution depends on the ellucidation of novel antifungal drug targets (i.e gene products whose functional inactivation results in cell death). The identification of gene products essential to cell viability in a broad spectrum of fungi, and absent in humans, could serve as novel antifungal drug targets to which rational drug screening can be then employed From this starting point, drug screens can be developed to identify specific antifungal compounds that inactivate essential and fungal-specific genes, which mimick the validated effect of the gene disruption
Of paramount importance to the antifungal drug discovery process is the genome sequencing projects recently completed for the bakers yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and under way in C. albicans. Although S. cerevisiae is not itself pathogenic, it is closely related taxonomicaliy to opportunistic pathogens including C. albicans. Consequently, many of the genes identified and studied in S. cerevisiae facilitate identification and functional analysis of orthologous genes present in the wealth of sequence information provided by the Stanford C. albicans genome project (http://candida.stanford.edu). Such genomic sequencing efforts accelerate the isolation of C albicans genes which potentially participate n essential cellular processes and which therefore could serve as novel antifungal drug targets
However, gene discovery through genome sequence analysis alone does not validate either known or novel genes as drug targets Ultimately, target validation needs to be achieved through experimental demonstration of the essentiality of the candidate drug target gene directly wthin the pathogen, since only a limited concordance exists between gene essentiality for a particular ortholog in different organisms For example, in a literature search of 13 C albicans essential genes validated by gene disruption, 7 genes (i.e. CaFKSI, CaHSP90. CaKREβ, CaPRSI, CaRADβ, CaSNFI, and CaEFT2) are not essential in S cerevisiae Therefore, although the null phenotype of a gene in one organism may, in some instances, hint at the function of the orthologous gene in pathogenic yeasts, such predictions can prove invalid after experimentation.
There thus remains a need to identify new essential genes C. albicans and validate same as drug targets. The present invention seeks to meet these and other needs.
The present description refers to a number of documents, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In general, the present invention relates to essential fungal specific genes that seek to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art associated with targets for antifungal therapy and with the drugs aimed at these targets. In addition, the present invention relates to screening assays and agents identified by same which may display significant specificity to fungi, more particularly to pathogenic fungi, and even more particularly to Candida albicans.
The invention concerns essential fungal specific genes in Candida albicans and their use in antifungal drug discovery.
More specifically, the present invention relates to the identification of genes known to be essential for viability in S. cerevisiae and to a direct assessment of whether an identical phenotype is observed in C. albicans. Such genes which are herein found to be essential in C. albicans serve as validated antifungal drug targets and provide novel reagents in antifungal drug screening programs.
More specifically, the present inventbn relates to the nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of CaKRE5, CaALRl and CaCDC24 of Candida albicans. Furthermore, the present invention relates to the identification of CaKREδ, CaALRl and CaCDC24 as essential genes, thereby validating same as targets for antifungal drug discovery and fungal diagnosis.
Until the present invention, it was unknown whether KRE5, ALR1 and CDC24 were essential in a wide variety of fungi. While these genes had been shown to be essential in one of budding yeast (e.g. S. cerevisiae) and fission yeast (e.g. S. pombe), the essentiality of these genes had not been assessed in a dimorphic or a pathogenic fungi (e g C albicans) Thus, the present invention teaches that KRE5, ALR1 and CDC24 are essential genes in very different fungi, thereby opening the way to use these genes and gene products as targets for antifungal drug devebpment diagnosis, in a wide variety of fungi including animal-infesting fungi and plant-infesting fungi Non-limiting examples of such pathogenic fungi include Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Coccidiodes immitis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Exophiala dermatitidis Histoplsma capsulatum, Dermtophytes spp , Microsporumspp , Tπcophyton spp , Phytophthora infestans and Puccima sorghi More particularly, the invention relates to the identification of these genes and gene products as validated drug targets in any organism in the kingdom of Fungi (Mycota) Thus, although the instant description mainly focuses on Candida albicans, the present invention may also find utility in a wi e range of fungi and more particularly in pathogenic fungi Prior to the present invention, the essentiality of these genes had not been verified in an imperfect, dimorphic yeast which survices as an obligate associate of human beings as well as other mammals, such as Candida albicans Moreover, prior to the present invention there was no reasonable prediction that a null mutation in any one of these three genes in Candida albicans would be essential, in view of the significant evolutionary divergence between C albicans and S pombe or S cerevisiae and thus, of the significant difference between the biology of these fungi For example, in view of the complexity of the pathways in which KRE5 ALR1 and CDC24 are implicated it could not be reasonably predicted that a knockout of CaKRE5, CaALRl or CaCDC24 would not be compensated by other Tactors upstream or downstrean thereof C albicans can become an opportunistic pathogen in immunosuppressed individuals Its morphology switches from a yeast (budding) form to a pseudohyphal and eventually hyphal (filamentous) morphology depending on particular stimuli It is generally believed that the hyphal form of C albicans is pathogenic/virulent Switching from the yeast to hyphal form involves a developmental process referred to as the dimorphic transition In a further general aspect, the invention relates to screering assays to identify compounds or agents or drugs to target the essential function of CaKRE5, CaALRl or CaCDC24 Thus, in a related aspect, the present invention relates to the use of constructs harboring sequences encoding CaKREδ, CaALRl or CaCDC24, fragments thereof or derivatives thereof, σ the cells expressing same, to screen for a compound, agent or drug that targets these genes or gene products.
Further, the invention relates to methods and assays to identify agents which target KRE5, ALR1 or CDC24 and more particularly CaKREδ, CaALRl or CaCDC24. In addition, the invention relates to assays and methods to identify agents which target pathways in which these proteins are implicated.
In accordance with the present invention, there is thus provided in one embodiment, an isolated DNA sequence selected from the group consisting of the fungal specific gene CaKREδ, the fungal specific gene CaALRl , the fungal specific gene CaCDC24, parts thereof, oligonucleotide derived therefrom, nucleotide sequence complementary to all of the above or sequences which hybridizes under high strigency conditions to the above.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of selecting a compound that modulates the activity of the product encoded by one of CaKREδ or CaALRl or CaCDC24 comprising an incubation of a candidate compound with the gene product, and a determination of the activity of this gene product in the presence of the candidate compound, wherein a potential drug is selected when the activity of the gene product in the presence of the candidate compound is measurably different and in the absence thereof
In accordance witn another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an isolated nucleic acid molecule consisting of 10 to 50 nucleotides which specifically hybridizes to RNA or DNA encoding CaKRES CaALRl, CaCDC24. or parts thereof or derivatives thereof wherein nucleic aαd molecule is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence consisting of at least 10 consecutive nucleic acids from the nucleic acid sequence of CaKREδ, CaALRl, or CaCDC24, or derivatives thereof.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of detecting CaKREδ, CaALRl or CaCDC24 in a sample comprising a contacting of the sample with a nucleicacid molecule under conditions that able hybridization to occur between this molecule and a nucleic acid encoding CaKREδ, CaALRl or CaCDC24 or parts or derivatives thereof; and detecting the presence of this hybridization.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a purified CaKREδ polypeptide, CaALRl polypeptide, or CaCDC24 polypeptide or epitope bearing portion thereof.
In yet an additional embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an antibody having specific binding affinity to CaKREδ, CaALRl, CaCDC24 or an epitope-bearing portion thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to the identification and disruption of the Candida albicans fungal specific genes, CaKREδ, CaALRl, and CaCDC24 which reveal structural and functional relatedness to their S. cerevisiae counterparts, and to a validation of their utility in fungal diagnosis and antifungal drug discovery. As alluded to earlier, while essentiality of KREδ, ALR1 or
CDC24 has been shown in budding or fission yeast, these results cannot be translated to the C. albicans system for numerous reasons. For example, while US Patent 5, 194,600 teaches the essentiality of the S. cerevisiae KREδ gene, a number of observations from fungal biology make it far from obvious as to the presence and/or role of this gene in a pathogenic yeast, of course, the teachings of 5,194,600 are even more remote from teaching or suggesting that a KREδ homolog in C. albicans would be essential or if it would have utility as an antifungal target. Examples of such observations are listed below. a) A related gene, GPT1, in the yeast S. pombe is not essential. Moreover, GPT1 thought to be involved in protein folding, fails to complement the S. cerevisiae kreδ mutant, and fails to reduce β-(1 ,6)-glucan polymer levels in this yeast. b) The β-(1 ,6)-glucan polymer could be made in a different way in different yeasts c) Genes are lost during evolution and it could thus not be determined a priori whether C. albicans retained a KREδ related gene. Moreover, the CaKREδ fails to complement a S. cerevisiae kreδ mutant, thus no gene could be recovered by such an approach Similarly, the DNA sequence of the C. albicans CaKREδ gene is sufficiently different from that ofS. cerevisiae, that it cannot be detected by low stringency Southern hybridization with the S cerevisiae KREδ gene as a probe For the purpose of the present invention, the following abbreviations and terms are defined below
DEFINITIONS
The terminology "gene knockout" or "knockout" refers to a disruption of a nucleic acid sequence which significantly reduces and preferably suppresses or destroys the biological activity of the polypeptide encoded thereby. A number of knockouts are exemplified herein by the introduction of a recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising one of CaKREδ, CaALRl or CaCDC24 sequences that disrupt at least a portion of the genomic DNA sequence encoding same in C. albicans In the latter case, in which a homozygous disruption (in a diploid organism or state thereof) is present, the mutation is also termed a "null" mutation
The terminology "sequestering agent" refers to an agent which sequesters one of the validated targets of the present invention in such a manner that it reduces or abrogates the biological activity of the validated arget A non-limiting example of such a sequestering agent includes antibodies specific to one of the validated targets according to the present invention
The term "fragmentø as applied herein to a peptide refers to at least 7 contiguous ammo acids, preferably about 14 to 16 contiguous ammo acids, and more preferably, more than 40 contiguous ammo acids in length Such peptides can be produced by well-known methods to those skilled in the art, such as, for example, by proteolytic cleavage, genetic engineering or chemical synthesis "Fragments" of the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention refer to such molecules having at least 12 nt, more partcularly at least 18 nt, and even more particularly at least 24 nt which have utility as diagnostic probes and/or primers It will become apparent to the person of ordinary skill that larger fragments of 100 nt 1000 nt, 2000 nt and more also firti utility in accordance with the present invention
The terminology "modulation of two factors" is meant to refer to a change in the affinity, strength, rate and the like between such two factors Having identified CaKREδ, CaALRl and CaCDC24 as essential genes and gene products in C albicans opens the way to a modulation of the interaction of πese gene products with factors involved in their respectve pathways in this fungi as well as others
Nucleotide sequences are presented herein by single strand, in the 5' to 3' direction, from left to right, using the one letter nucleotide symbols as commonly used in the art and in accordance with the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission
Unless defined otherwise, the scientific and technological terms and nomenclature used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill to which this invention pertains Generally, the procedures for cell cultures, infection, molecular biology methods and the like are common methods used in the art Such standard techniques can be found in reference manuals such as for example Sambrook et al (1989 Molecular Cloning - A Laboratory Manual Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories) art! Ausubel et al (1994, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology Wiley, New York) The present description refers to a number of rouinely used recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology terms Nevertheless definitions of selected examples of such rDNA terms are provided for clarity and consistency
As used herein "nucleic acid molecule' refers to a polymer of nucleotides Non-limiting examples thereof include DNA (e g genomic DNA cDNA) and RNA molecules (e g mRNA"! The nucleic acid molecule can be obtained by cloning techniques or synthesized DNA can be double-stranded or single-stranded (coding strand or non-coding strand [antisense]) The term "recombinant DNA" as known in the art refers to a DNA molecule resulting from the joining of DNA segments. This is often eferred to as genetic engineering
The term "DNA segment", is used herein, to refer to a DNA molecule comprising a linear stretch or sequence of nucleotides. This sequence when read in accordance with the genetic code, can encode a linear stretch or sequence of amino acids which can be referred to as a polypeptide, protein, protein fragment and the like
The terminology "amplification pair" refers herein to a pair of o gonucleotides (oiigos) of the present invention, whch are selected to be used together in amplifying a selected nucleic acid sequence by one of a number of types of amplification processes, preferably a polymerase chain reaction. Other types of amplification processes include ligase chain reaction, strand displacement amplification, or nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, as explained in greater detail below. As commonly known in the art, the oiigos are designed to bind to a complementary sequence under selected conditions.
The nucleic acid (e.g. DNA or RNA) for practising the present invention may be obtained according to well known methods.
Nucleic acid fragments in accordance with the present invention include epitope-encoding portions of the polypeptdes of the invention Such portions can be identified by the person of ordinary skill using the nucleic acid sequences of the present invention in accordance with well known methods Such epitopes are useful in raising antibodies that are specific to the polypeptides of the present invention. The invention also provides nucleic acid molecules which comprise polynucleotide sequences capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to the polynucleotide sequences of the present invention or to portions thereof
The term hybridizing to a portion of a polynucleotide sequence' refers to a polynucleotide which hybridizes to at least 12 nt, more preferably at least 18 nt, even more preferably at least 24 nt and especially to about 50 nt of a polynucleotide sequence of tne present invention The present invention further provides isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising a polynucleotide sequences which is preferably at least 90% identical more preferably from 96% to 99% identical, and even more preferably, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% identical to the polynicleic acid sequence encoding the validated targets or fragments and/or derivatives therecf according to the present invention Methods to compare sequences and determine their homology/identity are well known in the art
Oligonucleotide probes or primers of the present invention may be of any suitable length, depending on the particular assayformat and the particular needs and targeted genomes employed In general, the oligonucleotide probes or primers are at least 12 nucleotides in length, preferably between 15 and 24 nucleotides, and they may be adapted to be especially suited to a chosen nucleic acid amplification system As commonly known in the art, the oligonucleotide probes and primers can be designed by taking into consideration the melting point of hydrizidation thereof with its targeted sequence (see below and in Sambrook et al , 1989, Molecular Cloning - A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Edition, CSH Laboratories; Ausubel et al , 1989, in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons Inc , N Y )
The term "oligonucleotide" or "DNA" molecule or sequence refers to a molecule comprised of the deoxynbonucleotides adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and/or cytosine (C), in a double-stranded form and comprises or includes a "regulatory element" according to the present invention, as the term is defined herein The term "oligonucleotide' or "DNA" can be found in linear DNA molecules or fragments, viruses, plasmids vectors chromosomes or synthetically derived DNA As used herein particular double-stranded DNA sequences may be described according to the normal convention of giving only the sequence in the 5' to 3' direction ' Oligonucleotides' or oiigos' define a molecule having two or more nucleotides (ribo or deoxynbonucleotides) The size of the oligo will be dictated by the particular situation ana ultimately on the particular use thereof and adapted accordingly by the person of ordinary skill An oligonucleotide can be synthetised chemically or derived by cloning according to well known methods As used herein, a "primer" defines an oligonucleotide which is capable of annealing to a target sequence, thereby creating a double stranded region which can serve as an initiation point for DNA synthesis under suitable conditions The terms "homolog" and "homologous" as they relate to nucleic acid sequences (e g gene sequences) relate to nucleic acid sequence from different fungi that have significantly related nucleotide sequences, and consequently significantly related encoded gene products, and preferably have a related biological function Homologous genesequences or coding sequences have at least 70% sequence identity (as defined by the maximal base match in a computer-generated alignment of two or more nucleic acid sequences) over at least one sequence window of 48 nucleotides, more preferably at least 80 or 85%, still more preferably at least 90%, and most preferably at least 95% The polypeptide products of homologous genes have at least 35% ammo acid sequence identity over at least one sequence window of 18 ammo acid residues, more preferably at least 40%, still more preferably at least 50% or 60%, and most preferably at least 70%, 80%, or 90% Preferably, the homologous gene product is also a functional homolog, meaning that the homolog will functionally complement one or more biological activities of the product being compared Fσ nucleotide or ammo acid sequence comparisons where a homology is defined by a % sequence identity, the percentage is determined using any one of the known programs as very well known in the art A non-limiting example of such a program is the BLAST program (with default parameters (Altschϋ et al 1997 "Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST a new generaton of protein database search programs, Nucleic Acid Res 25 3389-3402) Any of a variety of algorithms known in the art which provide comparable results can also be used, preferably using default parameters Performance characteristics for three different algorithms in homology searching is described in Salamov et al 1999 "Combining sensitive database searches with multiple intermediates to detect distant homologues ' Protein Eng 12 95-100 Another exemplary program package is the GCG™ package from the University of Wisconsin Homologs may also or in addition be characterized by the ability of two complementary nucleic acid strands to hybridize to each other under appropriately stringent conditions Hybridizations are typically and preferably conducted with probe-length nucleic acid molecules, preferably 20- 100 nucleotides in length Those skilled in the art understand how to estimate and adjust the stringency of hybridization conditions such that sequences having at least a desired level of complementarity will stably hybridize, while those having lower complementarity will not For examples of hybridization conditions and parameters, see, e.g.,. Sambrook et al (1989) supra; and Ausubel et al. (1994) supra.
"Nucleic acid hybridization' refers generally to the hybridization of two single-stranded nucleic acid molecules having complementary base sequences, which under appropriate conditions will form a thermodynamically favored double-stranded structure. Examples of hybridization conditions can be found in the two laboratory manuals referred above (Sambrook et al., 1989, supra and Ausubel et al., 1989, supra) and are commonly known in the art. In the case of a hybridization toa nitrocellulose filter, as for example in the well known Southern blotting procedure, a nitrocellulose filter can be incubated overnight at 65°C with a labelled probe in a solution containing 50% formamide, high salt (5 x SSC or 5 x SSPE), 5 x Denhardt'ε solution, 1 % SDS, and 100 μg/ml denatured carrier DNA (e.g. salmon sperm DNA) The non-specifically binding probe can then be washed off the filter by several washes in 0.2 x SSC/0.1 % SDS at a temperature which is selected in view of the desired stringency, room temperature (low stringency), 4ZC (moderate stringency) or 65°C (high stringency) The selected temperature is based on the melting temperature (Tm) of the DNA hybrid. Of course, RNA-DNA hybrids can also be formed and detected In such cases, the conditions of hybridization and washing can be adapted according to well known methods by the person of ordinary skill Stringent conditions will be preferably used (Sambrook et al. , 1989, supra)
Probes of the invention can oe utilized with naturally occurring sugar-phosphate backbones as well as modified backbones including phosphorothioates dithionates alkyl phosphonates and α-nucleotides and the like Modified sugar-phosphate backbones are generally taught by Miller, 1988 Ann Reports Med Chem 23 295 and Moran et al 1987 Nucleic acid molecule Acids Res , 14 5019 Probes of the invention can be constructed of either nbonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyπbonucleic acid (DNA), and preferably of DNA
The types of detection methods in which probes can be used include Southern blots (DNA detection), dot or slot blots (DNA, RNA), and Northern blots (RNA detection) Although less preferred, labelled proteins could also be used to detect a particular nucleic acid sequence to which it binds Other detection methods include kits containing probes on a dipstick setup and the like
Although the present invention is not specifically dependent on the use of a label forthe detection of a particular nucleic acid sequence, such a label is often beneficial, by increasing the sensitivity of the detection Furthermore, this increase in sensitivity enables automation Probes can be labelled according to numerous well known methods (Sambrook et al , 1989, supra) Non-limiting examples of labels include 3H, 1 C, 32P, and ^S Non-limiting examples of detectable markers include ligands, fluorophores, chemiluminescert agents, enzymes, and antibodies Other detectable markers for use with probes which can enable an increase in sensitivity of the method of the invention include biotin and radionucleotides It will become evident to the person of ordinary skill that the choice of a particular label dictates the manner in which it is bound to the probe
As commonly known radioactive nucleotides can be incorporated into probes of the invention by several methods Non-limiting examples thereof include kmasing the 5 ends of the probes using gamma 2P ATP and polynucleotide Kinase using the Klenow fragment of Pol I of £ colt ιr the presence of radioactive dNTP (e g uniformly labelled DNA probe using random oligonucleotide primers in low-melt gels) using the SP6T7 system to transcribe a DNA segment in the presence of one or more radioactive NTP and the like
Amplification of a selected or target nucleic acid sequence may be carried out by a number of suitaole methods See generally Kwoh et al 1990, Am Biotechnol Lab 8 14-25 Numerous amplification techniques have been described and can be readily adapted to suit particular needs of a person of ordinary skill Non-limiting examples of amplification techniques include polymerase chain reaction (PCR), gase chain reaction (LCR), strand displacement amplification (SDA), transcription-based amplification, the Qβ rephcase system and NASBA (Kwoh et al , 1989, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86, 1173-1177, Lizardi et al , 1988, BioTechnologyg 1197-1202, Malek et al , 1994, Methods Mol Biol , 28 253-260, and Sambrook et al 1989, supra) Preferably, amplification will be carried out using PCR Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is carried out in accordance with known techniques See, e g , U S Pat Nos 4,683,195, 4,683,202, 4,800,159, and 4,965,188 (the disclosures of all three U S Patent are incorporated herein by reference) In general, PCR involves, a treatment ofa nucleic acid sample (e.g , in the presence of a heat stable DNA polymerase) under hybridizing conditions, with one oligonucleotide primer for each strand of the specific sequence to be detected. An extension product of eachpnmer which is synthesized is complementary to each of the two nucleic acid strands, with the primers sufficiently complementary to each strand of the specific sequence to hybridize therewith The extension product synthesized from each primer can also serve as a template for further synthesis of extension products using the same primers Following a sufficient number of rounds of synthesis of extension products the sample is analysed to assess whether the sequence or sequences to be detected are present Detection cf the amplified sequence may be carried out by visualization following EtBr staining of the DNA following gel electrophores or using a detectable label in accordance with known techniques and the like For a review on PCR techniques (see PCR Protocols A Guide to Methods and Amplifications Michael et al Eds Acad Press 1990)
Ligase chain reaction (LCR) is carried out in accordance with known techniques (Weiss 1991 Science 254 1292) Adaptation of the protocol to meet the desired needs can be carried out bv a person of ordinary skill Strarti displacement amplification (SDA) is also carried out in accordance with known techniques or adaptations thereof to meet the particular needs (Walker et al 1992, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89 392-396, and ibid , 1992 Nucleic Acids Res 20 1691 -1696)
As used herein, the term gene is well known in the art and relates to a nucleic acid sequence defining a single protein or polypeptide A "structural gene" defines a DNA sequence which is transcribed into RNA and translated into a protein having a specific ammo acid sequence thereby giving rise to a specific polypeptide or protein It will be readily recognized by the person of ordinary skill, that the nucleic acid sequence of the present invention can be incorporated into anyone of numerous established kit formats which are well known in the art
A "heterologous" (e g a heterologous gene) region of a DNA molecule is a subsegment segment of DNA within a larger segment that is not found in association therewith in nature The term "heterologous" can be similarly used to define two polypeptidic segments not joined together in nature Non-limiting examples of heterologous genes include reporter genes such as luciferase, chloramphenicol acetyl transferase, β-galactosidase, and the like which can be juxtaposed or joined to heterologous control regions or to heterologous polypeptides
The term 'vector" is commonly known in the art and defines a plasmid DNA phage DNA, viral DNA and the like which can serve as a DNA vehicle into which DNA of the present invention can be cloned Numerous types of vectors exist and are well known in the art
The term ' expression' defines the process by which a gene is transcribed into mRNA (transcription) the mRNA is then being translated (translation) into one polypeptide (or protein) or more
The terminology expression vector defines a vector or vehicle as described above but designed to enable the expression of an inserted sequence following transformation into a host The cloned gene (inserted sequence) is usually placed under the control of control element sequences such as promoter sequences The placing of a cloned gene under such control sequences is often referred to as being operably linked to control elements or sequences Operably linked sequences may also include two segments that are transcribed onto the same RNA transcript Thus, two sequences, such as a promoter and a "reporter sequence" are operably linked if transcription commencing in the promoter will produce an RNA transcript of the reporter sequence. In order to be "operably linked" it is not necessary that two sequences be immediately adjacent to one another
Expression control sequences will vary depending on whether the vector is designed to express the operably linked gene in a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host or both (shuttle vectors) and can additionally contain transcriptional elements such as enhancer elements, termination sequences, tissue-specificity elements, and/or translational initiation and termination sites
Prokaryotic expressions are useful for the preparation of large quantities of the protein encoded by the DNA sequence of hterest. This protein can be purified according to standard protocols that take advantage of the intrinsic properties thereof, such as size and charge (e.g. SDS gel electrophoresis, gel filtration, centrifugation, ion exchange chromatography...). In addition, the protein of interest can be purified via affinity chromatography using polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies The purified protein can be used for therapeutic applications. The DNA construct can be a vector comprising a promoter that is operably linked to an oligonucleotide sequence of the present invention, which is in turn, operably linked to a heterologous gene, such as the gene for the luciferase reporter molecule "Promoter" refers to a DNA regulatory region capable of binding directly or indirectly to RNA polymerase in a cell and inflating transcription of a downstream (3' direction) coding sequence For purposes of the present invention, the promoter is bound at its 3' terminus by the transcription initiation site and extends upstream (5' direction) to include the minimum number of bases or elements necessary to initiate transcription at levels detectable above background Within the promoter will be found a transcription initiation site (conveniently defined by mapping with S1 nuclease), as well as protein binding domains (consensus sequences) responsible for the binding of RNA polymerase Eukaryotic promoters will often but not always, contain "TATA" boxes and "CCAT" boxes Prokaryotic promoters contain -10 and -35 consensiε sequences which serve to initiate transcription and the transcript products contain Shme-Dalgarno sequences which serve as nbosome binding sequences during translation initiation As used herein, the designation "functional derivative' denotes, in the context of a functional derivative of a sequence whether an nucleic acid or am o acid sequence, a molecule that retains a biological activity (either function or structural) that is substantially similar to that of the original sequence This functional derivative or equivalent may be a natural denvative or may be prepared synthetically Such derivatives include ammo acid sequences having substitutions, deletions, or additions of one or more am o acids, provided that the biological activity of the protein is conserved The same applies to derivatives of nucleic acid sequences which can have substitutions, deletions, or additions of one or more nucleotides, provided that the biological activity of the sequence is generally maintained. When relating to a protein sequence, the substituting ammo acid as chemico-physical properties which are similar to that of the substituted ammo acid The similar chemico-physical properties include, similarities in charge, bulkiness, hydrophobicity, hydrophylicity and the like The term "functional derivatives" is intended to include "fragments", "segments' , "variants", ' analogs" or "chemical derivatives" of the subject matter of the presert invention
As well-known in the art a conservative mutation or substitution of an ammo acid refers to mutation or substitution which maintains 1) the structure of the backbone of the polypeptide (e g a beta sheet or alpha- helical structure), 2) the charge or hydrophobicity of the ammo acid or 3) the bulkiness of the side chain More specifically the well-known terminologies "hydrophilic residues" relate to seπne or threonine "Hydrophobic residues" refer to leucine, isoleucine phenylalanine valine or alanme "Positively charged residues" relate to lysme arginine or hystidine Negatively charged residues refer to aspartic acid or glutamic acid Residues having "bulky side chains" refer to phenylalanine tryptophan or tyrosine 18
Peptides, protein fragments, and the like in accordance with the present invention can be modified in accordance with well-known methods dependently or independently of the sequence thereof For example, peptides can be derived from the wild-type sequence exemplified herein in the figures using conservative ammo acid substitutions at 1 2 3 or more positions The terminology "conservative ammo acid substitutions" is well-known in the art which relates to substitution of a particular ammo acid by one having a similar characteristic (e g aspartic acid for glutamic acid, or isoleucme for leucine) Of course non-conservative ammo acid substitutions can also be carried out, as well as other types of modifications such as deletions or insertions, provided that these modifications modify the peptide, in a suitable way (e g without affecting the biological activity of the peptide if this is what is intended by the modification) A list of exemplary conservative ammo acid substitutions is given herembelow
CONSERVATIVE AMINO ACID REPLACEMENTS
For Amino Acid Code Replace With
Alanine D-Ala, Gly, Aib, β-Ala, Acp, L-Cys, D-Cys
Arginine R D-Arg, Lys, D-Lys, homo-Arg, D-homo-Arg, Met,
1 1 lie, D-Met, D-lle, Orn, D-Orn
1 Asparagine N D-Asn, Asp, D-Asp, Glu, D-Glu, Gin, D-Gln j Aspartic Acid D | D-Asp, D-Asn, Asn, Glu, D-Glu, Gin, D-Gln
Phenylalanine D-Phe, Tyr, D-Thr, L-Dopa, His, D-His, Trp, D- Trp, Trans-3,4, or 5-phenyiproline, AdaA, AdaG, cιs-3,4, or 5-phenylproline, Bpa, D-Bpa
Proline D-Pro, L-l-thιoazolιdιne-4-carboxylιc acid, D-or L-1-oxazolidine-4-carboxylιc acid (Kauer, U.S Pat. No. (4,511 ,390)
Seπne D-Ser. Thr, D-Thr, allo-Thr. Met, D-Met, Met (O), D-Met(O), L-Cys, D-Cys
Threonine T D-Thr, Ser, D-Ser, allo-Thr. Met, D-Met, Met(O),
D-Met(O). Val, D-Val
Tyrosine "Ϋ ' D-Tyr, Phe, D-Phe7L^Dόpa, His. D-His
Valine "V - D-Val, Leu, D-Leu, lie. D-lle Met, D-Met, AdaA0
AdaG As can be seen in this table, some of these modifications can be used to render the peptide more resistant to proteolysis Of course, modifications of the peptides can also be effected without affecting the primary sequence thereof using enzymatic or chemical treatment as well-known in the art
Thus, the term "variant" refers herein to a protein or nucleic acid molecule which is substantially similar in structure and biological activity to the protein or nucleic acid of the present invention Of course, conservedamino acids can be targeted and replaced (or deleted) with a "non-conservative" ammo acid in order to reduce, or destroy the biological activity of the protein Non- limiting examples of such genetically modified proteins include dominant negative mutants
As used herein, "chemical derivatives" is meant to cover additional chemical moieties not normally part of the subject matter of the invention Such moieties could affect the physico-chemical characteristic of the derivative (e g solubility, absorption, half life and the like, decrease of toxtcity) Such moieties are exemplified in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences (e g 1980) Methods of coupling these chemical-physical moieties to a polypeptide are well known in the art It will be understood that chemical modifications and the like could also be used to produce inactive or less active agents or compounds These agents or compounds could be used as negative controls or for eliciting an immunological response Thus eliciting immunological tolerance using an inactive modification of one of tie validated targets in accordance with the present invention is also within the scope of the present invention The term "allele" defines an alternative form of a gene which occupies a given locus on a chromosome
It should be understood that numerous types of antifungal polypeptides fragments and derivatives thereof can be produced using numerous types of modifications of the ammo acid chain Such numerous t es of modifications are well-known to those skilled in the art Broadly these modifications include without being limited thereto a reduction ofthe size of the molecule and/or the modification of the ammo acid sequence thereof Also chemical modifications such as, for example, the incorporation of modified or non-natural am o acids or non-ammo acid moieties, can be made to polypeptice derivative or fragment thereof, in accordance with the present invention. Thus, synthetic peptides including natural, synthesized or modified ammo acids, or mixtures thereof, are within the scope of the present invention
Numerous types of modifications or deπvatizations of the antifungals of the present invention, and particularly of the validated targets of the present invention, are taught in Genaro, 1995, Remington's Pharmaceutical Science The method for coupling different moieties to a molecule in accordance with the present invention are well-known in the art A non-limiting example thereof includes a covalent modification of the proteins, fragments, or derivatives thereof More specifically, modifications of the ammo acids in accordance with the present invention include, for example, modification of the cysteinyl residues, of the histidyl residues, lysinyl and aminotermmal residues, arginyl residues, thyrosyl residues, carboxyl side groups, glutaminyl and aspariginyl residues Other modifications of amino acids can also be found in Creighton, 1983, In Proteins, Freeman and Co. Ed., 79-86
As commonly known, a "mutation" is a detectable change in the genetic material which can be transmitted to adaughter cell. As well known, a mutation can be, for example, a detectable change in one or more deoxynbonucleotide For example, nucleotides can be added, deleted, substituted for, inverted, or transposed to a new position Spontaneous mutations and experimentally induced mutations exist The restit of a mutations of nucleic acid molecule is a mutant nucleic acid molecule A mutant polypeptide can be encoded from this mutant nucleic acid molecule
The terminology "dominant negative mutation" refers to a mutation which can somehow sequester a binding partner, such that thebinding partner is no longer available to perform regulate or affect an essential function in the cell Hence this sequestration affects the essential function of the bnding partner and enables an assayable change in the cell growth of the cell In one preferred embodiment, the change is a decrease in growth of the cell, or even death thereof As used herein, the term "purified" refers to a molecule having been separated from a cellular component Thus, for example, a "purified protein" has been purified to a level not found in nature A "substantially pure" molecule is a molecule that is lacking in most other cellular components As used herein, the terms "molecule", "compound" or "ligand" are used interchangeably and broadly to refer to natural, synthetic or semi- synthetic molecules or compounds The term "molecule" therefore denotes for example chemicals, macromolecules, cell or tissue extracts (from plants or animals) and the like Non limiting examples of molecules include nucleic acid molecules, peptides, antibodies, carbohydrates and pharmaceutical agents The agents can be selected and screened by a variety of means including random screening, rational selection and by rational design using for example protein or ligand modelling methods such as computer modelling, combinatorial library screening and the like It shall be understood that under certain embodiments, more than one "agents" or "molecules" can be tested simultaneously. Indeed, pools of molecules can be tested. Upon the identification cf a pool of molecules as having an effect on an interaction according to the present invention, the molecules can be tested in smaller pools or tested individually to identify the molecule initially responsible for the effect The terms "rationally selected" or "rationally designed" are meant to define compounds which have been chosen based on the configuration of the validated targetsor interaction domains thereof of the present invention As will be understood by the person of ordinary skill, macromolecules having non-naturally occurring modifications are also within tie scope of the term 'molecule" For example, peptidomimetics well known in the pharmaceutical industry and generally referred to as peptide analogs can be generated by modelling as mentioned above Similarly, in a preferred embodiment, the polypeptides of the present invention are modified to enhance their stability The molecules identified in accordance with the teachings of the present invention have a therapeutic value in dseases or conditions associated with a fungal infection and particularly with C albicans infections Alternatively the molecules identified in accordance with the teachings of the present invention find utility in the development of more efficient antifungal agents The term "mimetic" refers to a compound which is structural^ and functionally related to a reference compound whether natural, synthetic or chimeπc The term ' peptidomimetic" is a non-peptideor polypeptide compound which mimics the activity-related aspects of the 3-dιmensιonal structure of a peptide or polypeptide Thus peptidomimetic can mimic the structure of a fragment or portion of a fungi polypeptide Inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the peptide backbone of a mutant of a validated target of the present invention is transformed into a carbon-based hydrophobic structure which retains its antifungal activity This peptidomimetic compound therefore corresponds to the structure of the active portion of the mutant from which it was designed Such type of denvatization can be done using standard medical chemistry methods
Libraries of compounds (publicly available or commercially available) are well-known in the art The term "compounds" is also meant to cover πbozymes (see, for example, US 5,712,384, US 5,879,938, and
4,987,071), and aptamers (see, for example, US 5,756,291 and US 5,792613)
It will be apparent to a skilled artisan that the present inventiσi is amenable to the chip technology for screening compounds or diagnosing fungi infection Furthermore, screening assays in accordance with the present invention can be carried out using the well-known array or micro-array technology
The present invention also provides antisense nucleic acid molecules which can be used for example to decrease or abrogate the expression of the nucleic acid sequences or proteins of the present invention An antisense nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention refers to a molecule capable of forming a stable duplex or triplex with a portion of its targeted nucleic acid sequence (DNA or RNA) In one particular embodiment the antisense is specific to 4E-BP1 The use of antisense nucleic acid molecules and the design and modification of such molecules is well known in the art as described for example in WO 96/32966 WO 96/1 1266 WO 94/15646 WO 93/08845 and USP 5 593 974 Antisense nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention can be derived from the nucleic acid sequences and modified in accordance to well known methods For exampie, some antisense molecules can be designed to be more resistant to degradation to hcrease their affinity to their targeted sequence, to affect their transport to chosen cell types or cell compartments, and/or to enhance their lipid solubility bu using nucleotide analogs and/or substituting chosen chemical fragments thereof, as commonly known in the art
It shall be understood that the "in vivo" experimental model can also be used to carry out an "in vitro" assay For example, extracts from the indicator cells of the present invention can be prepared and used in one of the in vitro method of the present invention or an in vitro method known in the art
As used herein the recitation "indicator cells" refers to cells that express, in one particular embodiment, one of CaKREδ, CaALRl, and CaCDC24, in such a way that an identifiable or selectable phenotype or characteristic is observable or detectable Such indicator cells can be used in the screening assays of the present invention. In certain embodiments, the indicator cells have been engineered so as to express a chosen derivative, fragment, homolog, or mutant of these interacting domains Preferably, the cells are fungal cells. In one embodiment, the cells areS. cerevisiae cells, in another C. albicans cells. In one particular embodiment, the indicator cell is a yeast cell harboring vectors enabling the use of the two hybrid system technology, as well known in the art (Ausubel et al , 1994, supra) and can be used to test a compound or a library thereof In one embodiment, a reporter gene encoding a selectable marker or an assayable protein can be operably linked to a control element such that expression of the selectable marker or assayable protein is dependent on a function of one of the validated targets Such an indicator cell could be used to rapidly screen at high-throughput a vast array of test molecules In a particular embodiment the reporter gene is luciferase or β-Gal
In one embodiment, the validated targets of the present invention may be provided as a fusion protein The design of constructs therefor and the expression and production of fusion proteins are well known in the art (Sambrook et al , 1989, supra and Ausubel et al 1994, supra) In a particular embodiment, both interaction domains are part of fusion proteins A non-limtmg example of such fusion proteins includes a LexA-X fusion (DNA-binding domairv 4E-X; bait, wherein X is a validated target of the present invention or part or derivative thereof) and a B42 fusion (transactivator domain-Y; prey, wherein Y is a factor or part thereof which binds to X). In yet another particular embodiment, the LexA-X and B42-Y fusion proteins are expressed in a yeast cell also harboring a reporter gene operably linked to a LexA operator and/or LexA responsive element. Of course, it will be recognized that other fusion proteins can be used in such 2 hybrid systems. Furthermore, it will be recognized that the fusion proteins need not contain the full-length validated target or mutant trereof or polypeptide with which it interacts. Indeed, fragments of these polypeptides, provided that they comprise the interacting domains, can be used in accordance with the present invention.
Non-limiting examples of such fusion proteins include a hemaglutinin fusions, Gluthione-S-transferase (GST) fusions and Maltose binding protein (MBP) fusions. In certain embodiments, it might be beneficial to introduce a protease cleavage site between the two polypeptide sequences which have been fused. Such protease cleavage sites between two heterologously fused polypeptides are well known in the art.
In certain embodiments, it might also be beneficial to fuse the interaction domains of the present invention to signal peptide sequences enabling a secretion of the fusion protein from the host cell. Signal peptides frσn diverse organisms are well known in the art. Bacterial OmpA and yeast Suc2 ae two non limiting examples of proteins containing signal sequences. In certain embodiments, it might also be beneficial to introduce a linker (commonly knowr) between the interaction domain and the heterologous polypeptide portion. Such fusion protein find utility in the assays of the present invention as well as for purification purposes, detection purposes and the like.
For certainty, the sequences and polypeptides useful to practice the invention include without being limited thereto mutants, homologs, subtypes, alleles and the like. It shall be understood that in certain embodiments, the sequences of the present invention encode a functional (albet defective) interaction domain. It will be clear to the person of ordinary skill that whether an interaction domain of the present invention, variant, derivative, or fragment thereof retains its function in binding to its partner can be readily determined by using the teachings and assays of the present invention and the general teachings of the art. Of course, the interaction domains of the present invention can be modified, for example by in vitro mutagenesis, to dissect the structure- function relationship thereof and permit a better design and identification of modulating compounds. Derivative or analogs having lost their biological function of interacting with their respective interaction may find an additional utility (in addition to a function as a dominant negative, for example) in raising antibodies. Such analogs or derivatives could be used for example to raise antibodies to the interaction domains of the present invention. These artibodies could be used for detection or purification purposes. In addition, these antibodies could also act as competitive or non-competitive inhibitor and be found to be modulators of the activity of the targets of the present invention.
A host cell or indicator cell has been "transfected" by exogenous or heterologous DNA (e.g. a DNA construct) when such DNA has been introduced inside the cell. The transfecting DNA may or may not be integrated (covalently linked) into chromosomal DNA making up the genome of the cell. In prokaryotes, yeast, and mammalian cells for example/the transfecting DNA may be maintained on a episomal element such as a plasmid. Transfection and transformation methods are well known in the art (Sambrook et al., 1989, supra; Ausubel et al., 1994 supra; Yeast Genetic Course, A Laboratory Manual, CSH Press 1987). In general, techniques for preparing antibodies (including monoclonal antibodies and hybridomas) and for detecting antigens using antibodies are well known in the art (Campbell. 1984, In "Monoclonal Antibody- Technology: Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology", Elsevier Science Publisher, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and in Harlow et al., 1988 (in: Antibody- A Laboratory Manual, CSH Laboratories). The present invention also provides polyclonal, monoclonal antibodies, or humanized versions thereof, chimenc antibodies and the like which inhibit or neutralize their respective interaction domains and/or are specific thereto
From the specification and appended claims, the term therapeutic agent should be taken in a broad sense so as to also include a combination of at least two such therapeutic agents
In one particular embodiment, the present invention provides the means to treat fungal infection comprising an administration of an effective amount of an antifungal agent of the present invention
For administration to humans, the prescribing medical professional will ultimately determine the appropriate form and dosage for a given patient, and this can be expected to vary according to the chosen therapeutic regimen (e g DNA construct, protein, molecule), the response and condition of the patient as well as the severity of the disease
Composition within the scope of the present invention shoϋd contain the active agent (e.g. protein, nucleic acid, or molecule) in an amount effective to achieve the desired therapeutic effect while avoiding adverse side effects. Typically, the nucleic acids in accordance with the present invention can be administered to mammals (e.g. humans) in doses ranging from 0.005 to 1 ng per kg of body weight per day of the mammal which is treated Pharmaceuticaly acceptable preparations and salts of the active agent are within thescope of the present invention and are well known in the art (Remington's Pharmaceutical Science 16th Ed , Mack Ed ) For the administration of polypeptides, antagonists, agonists and the like, the amount administered should be chosen so as to avoid adverse side effects The dosage will be adapted by the clinician in accordance with conventional factors such as the extent of the disease and different parameters from the patient Typically 0 001 to 50 mg/kg/day will be administered to the mammal
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Having thus generally described the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which Figure 1 shows CaKREδ sequence and comparison to the S cerevisiae KREδ, Drosophila melanogaster UGGT1, and S pombe GPT1 encoded proteins (A) illustrates nucleotide and predicted am o acid sequence of CaKreδp The CaKreδp signal peptide is underlined in bold The ER retention sequence His-Asp-Glu-Leu (HDEL) is indicated in bold at the C-terminus Non-canonical CTG codons encoding Ser in place of Leu are italicized (B) shows protein sequence alignment between CaKreδp, Kre5p, Gptlp, and Uggtp Proteins are shown in single-letter ammo acid code with ammo acid identities shaded in black and similarities shaded in gray Gaps introduced to improve alignment are indicated by dashes and ammo acid positions are shown at the left,
Figure 2 shows CaALRl sequence and comparison to S cerevisiae Alrlp and Alr2p (A) illustrates nucleotide and predicted am o acid sequence of CaALRl Two hydrophobic am o acid stretches predicted to serve as transmembrane domains are indicated in bold Non-canonical CTG codons are italicized (B) shows protein sequence alignment between CaAlrlp, Alrlp, and Alr2p Proteins are shown in single-letter ammo acid code with ammo acid identities shaded in black and similarities shaded in gray Dashes indicate gaps introduced to improve alignment, Figure 3 shows CaCDC24 sequence and comparison to
CDC24 from S cerevisiae and S pombe (A) illustrates nucleotide and predicted ammo acid sequence of CaCDC24 Non-canonical CTG codons are italicized (B) shows protein sequence alignment between CaCdc24p, S cerevisiae Cdc24p, and the S pombe homolog Scdlp The CaCdc24p dbl homology domain extends from ammo acids 280-500 A pleckstπn homology domain is detected from residues 500-700 Protein alignments are formated as described in Fig 1 and 2 and
Figure 4 illustrates disruption of CaKREδ CaALRl, and CaCDC24 Restriction maps of (A) CaKREδ (C) CaALRl and (E) CaCDC24 display restriction sites pertinent to disruption strategies The insertion position of the hιsG-URA3-hιsG disruption module relative the CaKREδ, CaALRl, and CaCDC24 open reading frames (indicated by open arrows) is indicated as well as probes used to verify disruptions by Southern blot analysis. (B, D, F.) show southern blot verification of targeted integration of the hisG-URA3-hisG disruption module into CaKREδ, CaALRl, and CaCDC24 and its precise excision after 5-FOA treatment (B) shows genomic DNA extracted from Candida albicans wild-type strain, CAI-4 (lane 1), heterozygote CaKREδ/cakreδΔ::hιsG-URA3-hisG (lane 2), heterozygote
CaKREδ/cakreδΔr.hisG after 5-FOA treatment (lane 3), and a representive transformant resulting from the second round of transformation into a CaKREδ/cakreδΔ::hιsG heterozygote (lane 4), were digested with Hindlll and analyzed using CaKREδ, hisG, and CaURA3 probes. Asterisks identify the 1.6 kb ladder fragment that nonspecifically hybridizes to the three probes. (D) shows genomic DNA extracted from CAI-4 (lane 1 ), heterozygote CaALRl Vcaalr1Δ::hιsG-URA3-hisG (lane 2), heterozygote
CaALR1/caalr1 Δr.hisG after 5-FOA treatment (lane 3), and a representive transformant resulting from the second round of transformation into a CaALR1/caalr1Δ::hisG heterozygote (lane 4), were digested with EcoRI and analyzed using CaALRl, hisG, and CaURA3 probes. (F) shows genomic DNA extracted from CAI-4 (lane 1), heterozygote
CaCDC24/cacdc24Δ::hιsG-URA3-hisG containing the disruption module in orientation 1 (lane 2), heterozygote CaCDC24/cacdc24Δ::hisG-URA3-hisG containing the disruption module in orientation 2 (lane 3), heterozygote (orientation 1 ) after 5-FOA treatment (lane 4), heterozygote CaCDC24/cacdc24Δ::hιsG (orientation 2) after 5-FOA treatment (lane 5) and a representive transformant resulting from the second round of transformation into a CaALR1/caalr1Δ::hιsG (orientation 1 ) heterozygote (lane 6), were digested with EcoRI and analyzed using CaCDC24, hisG and CaURA3 probes
Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing which is exemplary and snould not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present invention DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Three C albicans genes whose gene products are homologous to those encoded by the essential genes KREδ, CDC24, and ALR1 from S cerevisiae were identified These genes participate in essential cellular functions of cell wall biosythesis, polarized growth, and divalent cationtransport, respectively Disruption of these genes in C albicans experimentally demonstrates their essential role in this pathogenic yeast Database searches fail to identify clear homologous counterparts in Caenorhabditis elegans, mouse and H sapiens genomes, supporting the utility of these genes as novel antifungal targets
Full length clones of CaKREδ CaCDC24 and CaALRl using available fragments of C albicans DNA were isolated by Polymerase Cham Reaction (PCR) to amplify genomic DNA derived from C albicans strain SC5314 The PCR products were radiolabeled and used to probe the C albicans genomic library by colony hybridization DNA sequencing revealed complete open reading frames of CaKREδ, CaCDC24 and CaALRl sharing statistically significant homology to their S cerevisiae counterparts namely KREδ, CDC24 and ALR1 all of which have met several criteria expected for potential antifungal drug targets Disruption of CaKREδ CaCDC24 and CaALRl was performed The disruption plasmids were digested and transformed into C albicans strain CA14 Southern blot analysis confirmed that the afoementioned genes are essential in C albicans
CaKREδ CaCDC24 and CaALRl were used in antifungal screening assays which confirmed their potential to screen for novel antifungal compounds
KRE5
The C albicans KREδ gene meets several criteria expected for a potential antifungal drug target InS cerevisiae deletion of KREδ confers a lethal phenotype (2) Although Ξ5-deleted cells are known to be viable in one particular strain background they are extremely slow growing and spontaneous extragenic suppressors are required to propagate kreδnull cells under laboratory conditions Genetic analyses suggest that KREδ, together with a number of additional KRE genes (e g KRE9) participate in the in vivo synthesis of β-(1 ,6)-glucan β-(1 ,6)-glucan covalently cross-links or "glues" other cell surface constituents, namely β-(1 3)-glucan mannan, and chitm into the final wall structure and has been shown to be essential for viability in both S cerevisiae and C albicans (1 ,2 and references therein) Importantly, β-(1 ,6)-glucan has been demonstrated to exist in a number of additional fungd classes including other yeast and filamentous Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes, Zygomycetes and Oomycetes, emphasizing the likelihood that gene products functioning in the β-(1 ,6)-glucan biosynthetic pathway could serve as broad spectrum drug targets Moreover, experimental efforts have failed to detect β-(1 ,6)-glucan in higher eukaryotes, suggesting that inhibitory compounds identified to act against CaKreδp would likely display a minimal toxicity to mammalian and more particularly to humans Having now shown that CaKREδ is essential C albicans, and knowing that KREδ is also essential in S cerevisiae, two yeasts which have significantly diverged evolutionanly, strongly suggest that KREδ is a target for antifungal drug screening and diagnose- in a wide variety of fungi, including animal- and plant-infesting fungi Consistent with a role in β-(1 ,6)-glucan biosynthesis, in vivo levels of this polymer are reduced substantially in kreδ-1 cells versus an isogenic wild type strain, and are completely absent in several independently-suppressed kreδ null strains (2) In addition kreδ mutants show a number of genetic interactions with KRE6 another gene involved in β-(1 6)-glucan assembly Although the biochemistry of β-(1 6)-glucan synthesis remains poorly understood recent studies demonstrate that cell wall mannoprotems are extensively glucosylated through β-(1 6) linkages and that this modification plays a central role in their anchorage within the extracellular matrix Kre5p plays a critical role in this process as Cwpl p, an abundent cell wall protein which is demonstrated to be highly glucosyated through β-(1 ,6)-glucan addition is undetected n the cell wall fraction of kreδnull cells and instead secreted into the medium 32
The predicted KREδ gene product offers only limited insight into a possible biochemical activity related to β-(1 6)-glucan production KREδ encodes a large secretory protein containing both an N-termmal signal peptide and C-terminal HDEL retention signal for localization to the endoplasmic reticulum Interestingly Kre5p has limited but significant homology to UDP-glucose glycoprotem glycosyltransferases (UGGT) an enzyme class participating in the "quality control" of protein folding Such UGGT enzymes function to "tag" misfolded ER proteins by reglucosylation of Λ/-lιnked GlcNAc2Man9 core oligosacchande structures present on misfolded proteins Proteins labelled in this way are substrates for theER chaperonm, calnex which facilitates refolding of the misfolded protein However, genetic analyses to address the relative involvement of Kreδp in glucosylation-dependent protein folding and β-(1 ,6)-glucan biosynthesis demonstrate that the essential function of Kreδp is unrelated to protein folding, and instead relates to its rote in β-(1 ,6)-glucan polymer biosynthesis (3) Although it remains to be demonstrated biochemically, Kreδp homology to glycosyltransferases likely reflects its role in the early biosynthesis of this polymer
ALR1 The product of the C albicans gene CaALRl, also meets several criteria characteristic of a suitable antifungal drug target In S cerevisiae ALR1 is essential for cell viability although this essentiality is suppressed under growth conditions containing non-physiologically-relevant leveis of supplementary Mg+^ ALR1 encodes a 922 am o acid protein containing a highly charged N-termmal domain and two hydrophobic C-termmal regions predicted to serve as membrane spanning domains anchoring the protein at the plasma membrane Although such a localization remains to be directly demonstrated deposition to the cell surface makes Alrl p an attractive drug target in terms of both bioavailability and resistance issues Alrlp shares substantial homolog , to two additional S cerevisiae proteins Alr2p (70% identity) and Ykl064p (34% identity) Both Alrlp and Alr2p share limited similarity to CorA a Salmonella typhimuπum/periplasmic membrane protein involved in divalent cation transport. Mammalian homologues to ALR1 have not been detected despite extensive homology searches in metazoan databases (data not shown)
Although ALR1 was identified in a screen for genes that confer increased tolerance to A 3 when overexpressed. biochemical analyses support a role for ALR1 in the uptake system for Mg+2 and possibily other divalant cations. Mg+2 is an essential requirement for bacterial and yeast growth. Uptake of radiolabelled Co+2, an analog of Mg+2 for uptake assays, correlates with ALR1 activity.
CDC24
A third potential antiiingal drug target is the product of the C. albicans gene, CaCDC24. CDC24 is essential for viability in both S. cerevisiae and S. pombe (5). CDC24 has been biochemically demonstrated to encode GDP-GTP nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activity towards Cdc42p, a Rac/Rho-type GTPase involved in polarization of the actin cytoskeleton. Conditional alleles of CDC24 shifted to the nonpermisive temperature lack a polarized distibution of actin, and consequentially form large, spherical, unbudded cells in which the normal polarized deposition of cell wall material is disrupted Eventually, cdc24 mutants lyse at the restrictive temperature CDC24-dependent activation of CDC42, is also required for the activation of the pheromone response signal transduction pathway during mating, and likely participates in the activation of this pathway under conditions that promote pseudohyphal development, since a downstream effector of CDC42. STE20. is required for hyphal formation. Thus CDC24 regulates cell wall assembly and the yeast-hyphal dimorphic transition both key cellular processes and targets being actively pursued in antifungal drug screens
Cdc24p localizes to the cell cortex concentrating at sites of polarized growth and interacts physically with a number of proteins including Cdc42p, Bemlp, and the heterotrimeπc G protein β and y subunits encoded by STE4 and STE18 respectively Cdc24p shares 24% overall identity to ite S pombe counterpart, Scdl p Similar homology has not been found in mammalian database protein searches, although Cdc24p does possess limited homology to a domain of the human exchange protein, dbl, and contains a pleckstnn homology domain, common to several mammalian protein classes. In contrast to Cdc24p, which has limited homology outside of fungi, Cdc42p shares 80-85% identity to mammalian proteins. The fungal-specific character of CDC24 may be due to its role in hallmark fungal processes like bud formation, pseudohyphal growth, and projection formation during mating, whereas CDC42 performs highly conserved functions (namely actin polymerization and signal transduction) common to all eukaryotes
Isolation of CaKREδ, CaCDC24, and CaALRl.
To isolate full length clones of CaKREδ, CaCDC24, and CaALRl, oligonucleotides were designed according to publicly available fragments of C. albicans DNA sequence. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotide pairs CAKRE5.1/CAKRE5.2, CaCDC24.1/CaCDC24.2, and CaALRl .1/CaALR1.2 to amplify genomic DNA derived from C. albicans strain SC5314 yielded 574, 299, and 379 bp products, respectively. These PCR products were 32P-radiolabeled and used to probe a YEp352-based C. albicans genomic library by colony hybridization
Sequence Information
DNA sequencing of two independent isolates representing putative CaKREδ and CaALRl clones revealed complete open reading frames (orf) sharing statistically significant homology to their S cerevisiae counterparts (Figs 1 , 2). DNA sequencing of multiple isolates of CaCDC24 revealed an orf containing strong identity to CDC24. but predicted to be truncated at its 3' end The 3' end of CaCDC24 was isolated by PCR amplification using one oligonucleotide designed from its most 3' sequence and a second oligonucleotide which anneals to the YEp352 polylmker allowing amplification of CaCDC24 C-terminal encoding fragments from this C albicans genomic library Subclonmg and DNA sequencing of a 1.0 kb PCR product completes the CaCDC24 open reading frame and reveals its gene product to share strong homology to both Cdc24p and Scdl p (Fig 3)
CaKREδ Sequence analysis reveals CaKREδ and KREδ are predicted to encode similarly-sized proteins (1447 vs 1365 am o acids, 166 vs 156 kDA) sharing significant homology throughout their predicted protein sequences (22% identity, 42% similarity, see Fig 1) Moreover, lιkeKR£5, CaKREδ is predicted to possess an ammo-terminal signal peptide required for translocation into the secretory pathway, and a C-terminal HDEL sequence which facilitates the retention of soluble secretory proteins within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Although CaKreδp is more homologous to S pombe and metazoan UGGT proteins throughout its C-terminal UGGT homology domain than to Kreδp, CaKreδp and Kreδp, are moe related to each other over their remaining sequence (approx 1100 ammo acids) This unique homology between the two proteins as well as a similar null phenotypes (see below) suggest that CaKREδ likely serves as the KREδ counterpart in C albicans
CaALRl
CaALRl encodes a 922 ammo acid residue protein sharing strong identity to boih ALR1 (1 Oe-180) and ALR2 (1 Oe-179 see Fig 2) Like these proteins, CaALRl possesses a C-terminal hydrophobic region which likely functions as two transmembrane anchoring domains CaALRl shares only limited homology however to two highly homologous regions common to ALR1 and ALR2 neither the N-termmal 250 ammo acids of CaALRl nor its last 50 ammo acids C-terminal the hydrophobic domain share strong similarity to ALR1 or ALR2 In addition CaALRl possesses two unique sequence extentions within the CorA homology region (one 38 ammo acids in length, the other 16 ammo acids long) not found in eιther/\LR7 or ALR2 Protein database searches identify a S pombe hypothetical protein sharing strong homology to CaALRl (2 7e-107), however no similarity to higher eukaryotic proteins were detected
CaCDC24 Sequence analysis of the CaCDC24 gene product reveals extensive homology to both Cdc24p (1e-93) and Scdlp from S cerevisiae and S pombe respectively (2e-61 , see Fig 3) throughout their entire open reading frames Although limited similarity exists between CaCdc24p (and both Cdc24p and Scdl p) and a large number of metazoan proteins (upto 5e-18) in each case this homology is restricted to the nucleotide exchange domain predicted to span ammo acid residues 250-500 Extensive analysis of metazoan databases failed to identify significant homology to either the N-termmal (am o acids 1-250) and C-terminal (am o acids 500-844) regions of CaCdc24p suggesting the CDC24 gene family is conserved exclusively within the fungal kingdom
Disruption of CaKRES, CaALRl, and CaCDC24
Experimental strategy
Disruption of CaKREδ was performed using the hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG "ι7R4-blaster" cassette constructed by Fonzi and Irwin and standard molecular biology techniques (1 and references within) A cakreδ hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG disruption plasmid was constructed by deleting a 780bp BamHl-Bglll DNA fragment from the library plasmid isolate, rJCaKRES and replacing it with a 4 0 kb BamHl-Bglll DNA fragment containing the hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG module from pCUB-6 This CaKREδ disruption plasmid is deleted of DNA sequence encoding ammo acids 971-1231 which encompasses approx 50% of the UGGT homology domain This CaKREδ disruption plasmid was then digested with Sphl prior to transformation
A CaALRl disruption allele was constructed by first subclonmg a 7 0 kp CaALRl BamHI-Sall fragment from YEp352-lιbrary isolate QCaALRI into PBSKII+ A 841 bp CaALRl Hindlll-Bglll fragment was then replaced with a 4 0 kb hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG DNA fragment digested with Hindi! and BamHI from This CaALRl disruption allele which is lacking DNA sequences encoding ammo acids 20-299, was digested using BamHI and Sail prior to transformation
A CaCDC24 insertion allele was constructed by first deleting a 0 9 kb Kpnl fragment from YEp352-lιbrary isolate pCaCDC24 to remove CaCDC24 upstream sequence containing BamHI and Bglll restriction sites which obstruct the insertion of the hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG module The 4 0 kb BamHl-Bglll hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG fragment from pCUB-6 was then ligated into a unique Bglll site The resulting plasmid possessing an insertion allele within CaCDC24 at ammo acid position 306, was digested with Kpnl and Sail prior to transformation
CaKREδ, CaALRl, and CaCDC24 disruption plasmids were digested as described above, and transformed into C albicans strain CAI"4 using the lithium acetate method Transformants were selected as Ura+ prototrophs on YNB + Casa plates. Heterozygous disruptants were identified by PCR (data not shown), verified by Southern blot (see below), and prepared for a second round of gene disruption by selecting for 5-FOA resistance To assess the null phenotype of each gene, a second round of transformations using heterozygous CaKREδ/cakreδ, CaALR1/caalr1, and CaCDC24/cacdc24 ura3- strains were performed as outlined above
Correct integration of the hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG module into CaKREδ CaALRl and CaCDC24 and CaURA3 excision from heterozygous strains was verified by Southern blot analysis using the following probes (1 a) a 1 25 kb Xbal-Kpn1 fragment digested from pCaKREδ containing N-termmal coding sequence of CaKREδ
(1 b) a 1 7 kb PCR product containing coding sequence from am o acid 404 and 3' flanking sequences of CaALRl
(1 c) a 778 bp PCR proαuct containing CaCDC24 coding sequence from am o acids 154-430 (2) a 783 bp PCR product which contains the entire
CaURA3 coding region (3) a 898bp PCR product encompassing the entire Salmonella typhimurium hisG gene. Genomic DNA from CarRE5-disrupted strains were digested with Hindlll and EcoRI was used to digest genomic DNA from CaALRl and CaCDC24-dιsrupted strains
Results
Southern blot analysis revealed that the cakreδ::hιsG-CaURA3-hisG disruption fragment integrated precisely into the wild type locus (Fig 4B) after the first round of transformations. Both a 5.0 kb wild type band and a 9.0 kb band diagnostic of the Ca/ RE5-disrupted allele were detected using the CaKREδ probe (Fig 4B). The 9 0 kb band was also detected with both the hisG and CaURA3 probes, confirming disruption of the first CaKREδ copy. Successful excision of the CaURA3 gene by growth on 5-FOA was validated by 1) a predicted shift in size of the CaKREδ disruption fragment from 9.0 kb to 6.0 kb when probed with either CaKREδ or hisG probes; and 2) the inability of the CaURA3 probe to recognize this fragment and the resulting strain having reverted to ura3- prototrophy.
To determine whether CaKREδ is essential, the transformation was repeated in two independently-derived
CaKREδ/cakreδ::hιsG, ura3-/ura3- heterozygote strains A total of 36 Ura+ colonies (24 small and 12 large colonies after 3 days of growth) were analyzed by PCR using oligonucleotides which amplify a 2 5 kb wild-type fragment that spans the BamHI and Bglll sites bordering the disrupted r egion All colonies were shown to contain this 2 5 kb wild-type fragment but to lack the 2 8 kb cakreδ hisG allele consistent with the cakreδ hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG module integrating at the disrupted locus
Southern blot analysis using the 3 different probes independently confirmed 4 such Ura+ transformants as bonafide CaKREδ/cakreδ hisG-
CaURA3-hιsG heterozygoteε If disruption of both copies of the gene was not essential, then 50% of the recovered disruptants would be expected to integrate into the CaKREδ locus, giving 50% homologous and 50% heterozygous disruptants This is the case for example, when disrupting the second wild-type allele of CaKREI Indeed, CaKREI was shown not to be essential in C albicans by this disruption method, since an equal number of heterozygous and homozygous strains resulted from this second round of transformations (data not shown) However, the absence of any homozygous CaKREδ disrupted transformants being detected among the 36 Ura+ transformants analyzed in this experiment demonstrates that CaKREδ is an essential C albicans gene It further validates CaKREδ and its gene product as a therapeutic target for drug discovery in this pathogen
CaALRl
Southern blot analysis of CaALRl first round transformants confirmed correct integration of the caalrl hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG disruption module as judged by an appropriately sized disruption band of 5 7 kb, and a wild-type fragment predicted to be >9 0 kb detected by the CaALRl probe
(Fig 4D) This 5 7 kb band was also detected with both theb/sG and CaURA3 probes, confirming disruption of one copy of CaALRl Southern blotting confirmed excision of the CaURA3 gene by growth on 5-FOA as the CaALRl probe detected an expected 5.0 kb fragment due to the absense of CaURA3.
Moreover, this 5 kb caalr hisG band was also detected using the hisG probe but not with the CaURA3 probe (Fig 4D)
Determination of the CaALRl null phenotype was performed as described for CaKREδ However, as it has been reported that the mviability of the ALR1 null mutation in S cerevisiae can be partially suppressed by supplementing the medium with MgCI2 Thus the second transformation was performed by selecting for Ura+ colonies on 500mM MgCI2-contaιnιng medium as well as on standardCasa plates 35+ colonies of various size (22 of which were isolated from MgCI2 -supplemented plates) were analyzed by PCR to confirm caalrl hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG integration The second allele from each of these 35 transformants was determined to be wild-type by PCR using oligonucleotides that span the insertion and produce a wild-type 1 6 kb product as opposed to the larger 1 75 kb product of the caalr hisG allele Southern blot analysis using the 3 different probes independently confirmed 4 such Ura+ transformants as CaALR1/caalr1 hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG heterozygotes This inability to identify any homozygous CaALRl disrupted transformant among the 35 Ura+ colonies analyzed, experimentally demonstrates that CaALRl is an essential C albicans gene and validates the CaALRl gene product as a therapeutic target for drug discovery against this pathogen
CaCDC24
Southern blot analysis of CaCDC24 first round transformants using the CaCDC24 gene probe confirmed the correct integration of the cacdc24. hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG insertion fragment as both 2.55 kb and 37 kb fragments, which are diagnostic of the insertional allele, were detected in addition to the 2.2 kb wild-type CaCDC24 fragment (Fig 4F) Moreover, both 2.55 kb and 3 7 kb fragments were detected using CaURA3 and hisG probes Excision of CaURA3 from the resulting heterozygote was verified by: 1 ) detecting a single 3.3 kb fragment unique to 5-FOA resistant colonies using the CaCDC24 or hisG probes; and 2) the failure to detect this band using the CaURA3 probe (Fig 4F)
As previously, a second round of transformations using the above described CaCDC24 heterozygote was performed. 28+ colonies of various size were analyzed by PCR to confirm cacdc24::hιsG-CaURA3-hisG integration The second allele from each of these 28 transformants was determined to be wild-type by PCR using oligonucleotides which span the insertion and produce a wild-type 05 kb product rather than the 1 6 kb product of the caalr hisG allele Southern blot analysis using the 3 different probes independently confirmed 4 such Ura+ transformants as CaCDC24/cacdc24 hιsG-CaURA3-hιsG heterzygoteε The inability to identify a homozygous CaCDC24 disrupted transformant among these 28 Ura^- colonies analyzed again demonstrates that CaCDC24 is an essential C albicans gene and is therefore a third validated drug target suitable for drug discover against this pathogen Tne present invention is illustrated in further detail by the following non-limiting examples EXAMPLE 1 In vivo Screening Methods for Specific Antifungal Agents
Having now validated CaKREδ CaALRl and CaCDC24 as drug targets in Candida albicans, heterologous expression of CaKREδ, CaALRl, or CaCDC24 in S cerevisiae kreδ alrl and cdc24 mutants respectively, allows replacement of the S cerevisiae gene with that of its C albicans counterpart and thus permits screening for specific inhibitors to this bonafide drug target in a S cerevisiae background where the additional experimental tractability of the organism permits additional sophistication in screen development For example drugs which block CaKreδp in S cerevisiae confer K1 killer toxin resistance, and this phenotype can be used to screen for such compounds In a particular embodiment, CaKREδ can be genetically modified to function in S cerevisiae by replacing its promoter sequence with any strong constitutive S cerevisiae promoters (e g GAL10, ACT1, ADH1) As C albicans utilizes an altered genetic code, in which the standard leucine-CTG codon is translated as seπne, all four codons (or any functional subset thereof) could be modified by site-directed mutagenesis to encode seπne residues when expressed in S cerevisiae Compounds that impair CaKreδp activity in S cerevisiae may be screened using a K1 killer toxin sensitivity assay Similarly compounds could be screened which inactivate heterologously-expressed CaCDC24 and consequently disrupt its association with Rsrl p or Cdc42p in a two hybrid assay Alternatively CaCDC24 function could be monitored in a screen for compounds able to disrupt pseudohyphal formation in a CaCDC24-dependent manner A whole cell drug screening assay based on CaALRl function could similar, be envisaged For example Ca \Z_R7-dependent influx of 57CO-+ in a S cerevisiae alrl mutant suppressed by supplementary Mg- could be monitored to lαentifv compounds which specitically block tne import of divalent cations EXAMPLE II In vitro Screening Methods for Specific Antifungal Agents
1 Use of an in vitro assay to synthesize β-(1 ,6)-glucan
In such an assay the incorporation of labelled glucose from UDP-glucose into a product that can be immunoprecipitated or immobilized with β-(1 ,6)-glucan antibodies is measured The specificity of this synthesis can be established by showing its dependence on CaKreδp, and its digestion with β-(1 ,6)-glucanase
Drugs which block this in vitro synthesis reaction, block β- (1 6)-glucan synthesis and are candidates for antifungal drugs, some may inhibit Kre5p others may inhibit other steps in the synthesis of this polymer
2 Use of a specific in vitro assay for CaKre5p
CaKreδp has ammo-acid sequence similaπties to UDP-glucose glycoprotein glucosyltransferases (4) The CaKreδp protein can be heterogeneously expressed and/or purified from Candida albicans and an in vitro assay devised by adding purified GPI-anchored cell wall proteins known to normally contain β-(1 ,6)-glucan linkages in a KREδ wild-type background but absent in kreδ deleted extracts Such acceptor substrates could be obtained from available S cerevisiae kreδ null extracts suppressed by second site mutations or conditional kreδ strains (e g under control of a regulatable promoter or temperature sensitive mutation) CaKreδp dependent protein glycosylation is measured as radiolabelled incorporation of UDP-glucose into the acceptor substrate purified from the kreδ null extract Alternatively it is possible to screen for compounds that bind to immobilized CaKreSp For example, scmtilation proximity assays (SPA) could be developed in high throughput tormat to detect compounds whicn disrupt binding between CaKreδp ano radiolabelled UDP- glucose Alternatively a SPA-based CaKre5P /r? vitro screen may be employed using a labelled antibody to CaKreδp and screening for compounds able to disrupt the CaKreδp antiCaKreδp antibody depender fluorescence Compounds identified in such screens serve as lead compounds in the development of novel antifungal therapeutics CDC24 has been biochemically demonstrated to encode a GDP-GTP nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) required to convert Cdc42p to a GTP-bound state An in vitro assay to measure CaCdc24p-dependent activation of Cdc42p could be used to screen for inhibitors of Ca dc24p. This could be accomplished by directly measuring the percentage of GTP versus GDP bound by Cdc42p. Alternatively. Cdc24p function could be determined indirectly by measuring Cdc42p-GTP dependent activation of Ste20p kinase activity.
EXAMPLE III
The use of CaALRl, CaKREδ, and CaCDC24 in PCR-based diagnosis of fungal infection
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assays provide a number of advantages over traditional serological testing methodologies in diagnosing fungal infection. Issues of epidemiology, fungal resistance, relability, sensitivity, speed, and strain identification are limited by the spectrum of primers and probes available. The CaKREδ, CaALRl, and CaCDC24 gene sequences enable the design of novel primers of potential clinical use. In addition, as CaAlrlp is thought to localize to the plasma membrane and extend out into the periplasmic space/cell wall, this extracellular domain could act as a serological antigen to which antibodies could be raised and used in serological diagnostic assays
EXAMPLE IV Plasmid-based reporter constructs which measure Kreδp, Alrlp, or
Cdc24p inactivation
Transcπptional profiling of κre5 alrl . and cdc24 mutants in S cerevisiae could identify genes which are transcπptionally induced or repressed specifically under conditions of KRE5 ALR1 , or CDC24 inactivation or overproduction The identification of promoter elements from genes responsive to the loss of KRE5 ALR1 or CDC24 activity offers practical utility in drug screening assays to identify compounds which specifically inactivate these targets. For example, a chimeπc reporter gene (eg. lacZ, GFP,) whose expression would be either induced or repressed by such a promoter would reflect activity of Kre5p, and could be used for high-throughput screening of compound libraries. Further, a group of promoters showing such regulated expression would allow a specific fingerprint or transcriptional profile to be buit for the inhibition or overproduction of the ALR1, CDC24, or KREδ genes. This would allow a reporter set to be constructed that could be used for nigh-throughput screening of compound libraries giving a specific tool for screening compounds which inhibit these gene products
CONCLUSION
The aim of the present invention is to provide the identification and subsequent validation of novel drug targets that can be used in specific enzymatic and cellular assays leading to the discovery of new clinically useful antifungal compounds. Although KREδ, ALR1 and CDC24 have previously been identified in the baker's yeast, S. cerevisiae, prior to the present invention, it was unknown whether orthologous genes would be identified in the human pathogen C. albicans, or whether should they exist, these genes would perform identical or similar functions. The CaKREδ, CaALRl and CaCDC24 genes from C. albicans have thus been identified and their utility has been validated as novel antifungal drug targets by experimentally demonstrating their essential nature by gene disruption directly in the pathogen Although the precise role of these gene products remains to be determined, the current understanding of their cellular functions does enable both in vitro and in vivo antifungal drug screening assay development Furthermore, and of importance clinically, genome database searches fail to detect significant homology to these genes in metazoanε suggesting that screening for compounds whicn inactivate these fungal-specific drug targets are less likely to display toxicity to mammals ana particularly to humans KREδ and CDC24 are unique genes in S. cerevisiae and irrespective of their inclusion in gene families in C albicans. they retain an essential function ALR1p1 is part of a 3 member gene family in S cerevisiae and sequence similarity to ALR2p has been identified (Stanford Sequencing Project), however the essential role of CaALRl p in C albicans and their predicted extracellular location offers the potential to screen for novel antifungal compounds which need not enter the cell circumventing issues of compound delivery and drug resistance Thus, the present invention provides the identification of
CaKREδ, CaALRl and CaCDC24 as essential in Candida albicans and as fungal-specific validated drug antifungal targets The present invention also provides the means to use these validated targets to screen for artifungal drugs to Mycota in general and more particularly to a pathogenic yeast such as Candida albicans Thus, the present invention extends in a non-obviousway the use of these genes in a pathogenic fungal species, as targets for screening 5r drugs specifically directed against fungal pathogens
Although the present invention has been described heremabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims.
REFERENCES
1. Lussier et al , 1998 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA_95 9825-9830
2 Meaden et al , 1990, Mol Cell Biol JO 3013-3019
3. Orlean, P 1997, eds Pnngle, J R , Broach, J R , and Jones, E W Cαϊ Spring Harbor Lab Press, Plamview, NY Vol 3, pp 229-362
4. Shahinian et al , 1998, Genetics 149 843-856
5. MacDiarmid et al 1998, J Biol Chem 273 1727-1732
6. Pnngle et al , 1995, Cold Spring Harbor Symp Quant Biol. 60 729-744

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1 An isolated DNA sequence selected from the group consisting of a) fungal specific gene of C. albicans termed CaKREδ, b) fungal specific gene of C. albicans termed CaALRl; c) fungal specific gene of C. albicans termed CaCDC24; d) a part or oligonucleotide derived from a), b) or c); e) a nucleotide sequence complementary to any of the nucleotide sequences of a) - d); and f) a sequence which hybridizes under high stringency conditions to any of the nucleotide sequences of a) - e).
2. The isolated DNA sequence of claim 1 , wherein said sequence of CaKREδ is as set forth in Figure 1A.
3. The isolated DNA sequence of claim 1 , wherein said sequence of CaALRl is as set forth in Figure 2A
4 The isolated DNA sequence of claim 1 , wherein said sequence of CaCDC24 is as set forth in Figure 3A
5 A method of selecting a compound that modulates the activity of a protein encoded by said CaKREδ of claim 2 comprising a) incubating a candidate compound with said protein; and b) determining the activity of said protein in the presence of said candidate compound, wherein a potential drug is selected when the activity of said protein in the presence of said candidate compound is measurably different than in the absence thereof
6 A method of selecting a compound that modulates the activity of a protein encoded by said CaALRl of claim 3 comprising: a) incubating a candidate compound with said protein; and b) determining the activity of said protein in the presence of said candidate compound, wherein a potential drug is selected when the activity of said protein in the presence of said candidate compound is measurably different than in the absence thereof
7 A method of selecting a compound that modulates the activity of a protein encoded by said CaCDC24 of claim 3 comprising: a) incubating a candidate compound with said protein; and b) determining the activity of said protein in the presence of said candidate compound, wherein a potential drug is selected when the activity of said protein in the presence of said candidate compound is measurably different than in the absence thereof.
8 An isolated nucleic acid molecule consisting of 10 to 50 nucleotides which specifically hybridizes to RNA or DNA of claim 1 , 2 3 or 4, wherein said nucleic acid molecule is or is complementary to a nucleotide sequence consisting of at least 10 consecutive nucleotides from said nucleic acti sequence set forth in Figures 1A, 2A or 3A
9 A method of detecting CaKREδ, CaALRl or CaCDC24 in a sample comprising a) contacting said sample with a nucleic acid molecule according to claim 8, under conditions such that hybridization occurs; and b) detecting the presence of said molecule bound to said CaKREδ, CaALRl or CaCDC24 nucleic acid
10 A purified CaKREδ polypeptide or an epitope-bearing portion thereof
1 1. A purified CaALRl polypeptide or an epitope-beaπng portion thereof
12. A purified CaCDC24 polypeptide or an epitope-bearing portion thereof
13 The purified CaKREδ polypeptide according to claim 10, comprising an ammo acid sequence at least 90% identical to the amino acid sequence as set forth in Figure 1B.
14. The purified CaALRl polypeptide according to claim 11 , comprising an amino acid sequence at least 90% identical to the amino acid sequence as set forth in Figure 2B.
15. The purified CaCDC24 polypeptide according to claim 12, comprising an ammo acid sequence at least 90% identical to the amino acid sequence as set forth in Figure 3B
16 An antibody having specific binding affinity to the polypeptide or epitope-bearing portion thereof according to claim 10
17 A method of screening for a compound having antifungal activity through an interaction with a protein selected from KREδ ALR1 and CDC24 comprising a) incubating a candidate compound with said protein, and b) determining one of the activity of said protein or of an assayable or observable property associated with a biological function of said protein in the presence of said candidate compound wherein a potential antifungal drug is selected when the activity or assayable or observable property of said protein in the presence of said candidate compound is measurably different than in the absence thereof
18 The method of claim 17, wherein said antifungal activity is effective against a fungi selected from Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Coccidiodes immitis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Exophiala dermatitidis Histoplsma capsulatum, Dermtophytes spp , Microsporumspp , Tncophyton spp , Phytophthora infestans and Puccinia sorghi
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